Hinterrhein (river) on:
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The Hinterrhein (; ; ; ; ; ), or Posterior Rhine, is the right of the two initial tributaries of the
Flowing from the village Hinterrhein near the San Bernardino Pass through the Rheinwald valley, the river flows into a gorge called Rofla Gorge (). In this gorge, an equal-sized tributary, the Avers Rhine, adds waters from the deep Val Ferrera and the very remote alp of Avers and its side valley Valle di Lei, located on Italian territory. Below the Rofla Gorge, the valley widens into a section called Schams. The ''Hinterrhein'' then reaches Andeer, before passing through another gorge, the Viamala, before arriving at Thusis. Now, another tributary of slightly bigger volume reaches the ''Hinterrhein'', the Albula, coming from the Albula Pass, which is also the name of a railway line that has become a UNESCO world heritage. The two main tributaries of the Albula are the Landwasser, flowing through Davos, and the Gelgia from the Julier pass area.
After passing Rothenbrunnen through a valley called Domleschg (a valley with an incredible number of castles, showing the importance of transit in the area) the ''Hinterrhein'' is again left alone from civilisation in the floodplain ''Isla Bella'' near Rhäzüns, before it joins the Anterior Rhine () at Reichenau, near Bonaduz.
The
Road closures on passes in Graubünden
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Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
(the other being the '' Vorderrhein''). It is located in the canton of Grisons (), Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. One of its upper tributaries is , which is the outflow of Lago di Lei located in Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, Italy.
Although it is shorter in length, its volume
Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...
is larger than that of the ''Vorderrhein'' at their confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
near Reichenau, after which the river is called the Alpine Rhine, which flows out into Lake Constance ().
Course
Flowing from the village Hinterrhein near the San Bernardino Pass through the Rheinwald valley, the river flows into a gorge called Rofla Gorge (). In this gorge, an equal-sized tributary, the Avers Rhine, adds waters from the deep Val Ferrera and the very remote alp of Avers and its side valley Valle di Lei, located on Italian territory. Below the Rofla Gorge, the valley widens into a section called Schams. The ''Hinterrhein'' then reaches Andeer, before passing through another gorge, the Viamala, before arriving at Thusis. Now, another tributary of slightly bigger volume reaches the ''Hinterrhein'', the Albula, coming from the Albula Pass, which is also the name of a railway line that has become a UNESCO world heritage. The two main tributaries of the Albula are the Landwasser, flowing through Davos, and the Gelgia from the Julier pass area.
After passing Rothenbrunnen through a valley called Domleschg (a valley with an incredible number of castles, showing the importance of transit in the area) the ''Hinterrhein'' is again left alone from civilisation in the floodplain ''Isla Bella'' near Rhäzüns, before it joins the Anterior Rhine () at Reichenau, near Bonaduz.
The drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
of the ''Hinterrhein'' lies mostly within the canton of Grisons, with one tributary, the rising in Lombardy, Italy ( Sondrio). The nearby Lunghin Pass is the triple divide between the rivers Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and Po.
Significance
To learn about the importance of travel along the Hinterrhein, a multiday trekking route is signposted along the river from Thusis to Splügen, where it turns south to Splügen Pass, a historically important transit route to Italy. Nowadays there is no traffic across the Splügen pass in winter, whereas the route across its age-old rival, the San Bernardino Pass, was given a long road tunnel in 1967 that made it possible to keep the road open all year./ref>
See also
* List of rivers of SwitzerlandReferences
Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of Graubünden Andeer Rheinwald Schams Sufers Zillis-Reischen Rongellen Sils im Domleschg Thusis Fürstenau, Switzerland Cazis Domleschg Rothenbrunnen Rhäzüns Domat/Ems Bonaduz Tamins {{Switzerland-river-stub