The Spöl or Aqua Granda is an Italian and Swiss river and is a tributary of the
Inn.
The source of the river is near
Corno di Campo in the
Province of Sondrio in Italy.
It flows northeast past Livigno and into
Lago di Livigno. It exits the lake at the Italian/Swiss border and flows northwest through
Parc Naziunal Svizzer before emptying into the Inn near
Zernez.
Despite rising in Italy, the river is a tributary of the Inn, and the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, rather than of the
Po. In other words, its valley is on the northern side of the
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
. In this area geographical and political boundaries do not coincide.
Due to an international treaty, an
artificial lake
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...
, Lago di Livigno, was created by
Engadiner Kraftwerke in the 1960s, with a
dam on the border. Despite indemnisation, not all inhabitants were willing to leave this part of the valley.
The
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...
has a capacity of . Its minimum and maximum water levels above sea level are at and respectively. Since its construction, this lake had been off-limits for any activity, such as
wind-surfing or
rowing, until the summer of 2005, when Italy's National Rowing team was authorized to train on the lake.
The same international treaty allowed another electricity company to catch the waters of Aqua Granda and other tributaries above a certain elevation and to transport it through a tunnel to the
artificial lakes
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
of
Cancano, in
Val Fraele
Val may refer to: Val-a
Film
* ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo
Military equipment
* Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies
* AS Val, a So ...
, on the other side of the watershed. This has decreased the water level on the river dramatically, with some parts of it left without water, causing strong but ineffective protests by the local population.
Nowadays this river is popular for
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
, virtually the only other use which can be made of it.
References
External links
Livigno City CouncilLivigno Tourist Office
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of Lombardy
Rivers of the Province of Sondrio
Rivers of Switzerland
International rivers of Europe
Rivers of Graubünden
Zernez
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