Jona (river)

The Jona is a river in the Swiss cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen, forming partly their mutual border, and one of the main tributaries of '' Obersee'', Lake Zurich.

Geography

The Jona rises on the eastern slope of Bachtel mountain near Gibswil in the canton of Zurich. Gibswil marks the drainage divide between the rivers Jona and Töss. Flowing eastward through a small valley and passing an impressive waterfall, the river changes its direction towards south by a ravine, which is crossed by a viaduct of the '' Tösstalbahn'' (operated by the S26 service of Zürich S-Bahn). From there, it continues southward until Wald, where the Jona turns to the west, dividing the municipalities of Dürnten and Rüti, then passing the village of Tann and Rüti in the so-called ''Tannertobel'' (). Once again, it changes its direction, flowing now southward again, slightly meandering through Rüti and the so-called ''Joner Wald'' (), where it is followed (and eventually crossed) by the Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway line (operated by Zürich S-Bahn lines S5 and S15). In the Jona Forest, the river follows the cantonal border between St. Gallen and Zurich. It underneaths the ''Oberland Autobahn'' ( A53 highway), at the same time also reaching the canton of St. Gallen and the Rapperswil-Jona municipality. After flowing in a nearly straight line through the former village center of Jona, it is crossed by the Rapperswil–Ziegelbrücke railway line (operated by the ''Voralpen-Express'' and St. Gallen S-Bahn lines S4, S6 and S17) before it finally flows out into ''Obersee'', the upper section of Lake Zurich (), forming a small river delta at ''Stampf'' lido near Busskirch.

The length of the Jona measures nearly , rising at a.s.l. and flowing in ''Obersee'' at a.s.l. The river belongs to the Limmat→Aar→Rhine system. Its drainage basin measures .

History

The river's name was first mentioned in 834 AD, the former municipality '' Jona'' was named much later. It is assumed that the name originates as either Celtic ''Jauna'' (the cold one) – the Jona is still largely determined by forest area – or, as Indo-European ''yamam'', meaning ''stream''. Latest interpretations say that the Indo-European word ''jeu'' roughly means ''to move'', followed by the Old High German name ''Jouna ''.Website detten.ch

Its hydropower was used for a larger number of medieval watermills along the small river. As a renewable source, in the 19th century, the river was important for industrialization of the textile industry of the communities of Wald, Rüti, and Rapperswil-Jona.

Gallery

Wissengubel 1.jpg, Wissengubel Fall (near Gibswil)
Jona - Tannertobel IMG 2016.JPG, ''Tannertobel'' between Tann and Rüti
Tann - Rüti Joweid IMG 2032 ShiftN.jpg, ''Joweid'' (= Jona river meadow) in Rüti, Bachtel mountain in the background
Jona - Holzwies IMG 2396.JPG, The Jona at ''Holzwies'' in Jona
Jona (SG) - Jona IMG 1803.JPG, The river canal within the village of Jona
Jona - Jona (SG) Stampf IMG 1886.JPG, River delta, called ''Stampf'', at '' Obersee''

See also

* List of rivers of Switzerland

References

External links

Dorfverein Wagen

{{Lake Zurich

Rivers of the canton of St. Gallen
Rapperswil-Jona
Rivers of the canton of Zürich
Tributaries of Lake Zurich
Rüti, Zürich
Rivers of Switzerland