The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Obersee section of

Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

. It is about in length. The water power of the Linth was a main factor in the creation of the textile industry of the canton Glarus, and is today used to drive the

Linth–Limmern power stations The Linth–Limmern Power Stations are a system of hydroelectric power stations located south of Linthal in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. The system uses five reservoirs and four power stations at steep variations in altitude. Works on the c ...

in its upper reaches. The river and its upper valley forms the boundary between the mountain ranges of the

Glarus Alps The Glarus Alps () are a mountain range in central Switzerland. They are bordered by the Uri Alps and the Schwyz Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south, the Appenzell Alps to the northeast. The eastern part of the Glarus Alps contains ...

, to its east and south, and the

Schwyzer Alps The Schwyz Alps () are a mountain range in Switzerland. They form part of the North-Eastern Swiss Alps and are bordered by the Glarus Alps to the east, the Appenzell Alps to the north-east, the Emmental Alps in the west, and the Uri Alps to the ...

, to its west. In its lower part, in the Linth plain (), the Linth Canal forms the boundary between the cantons of Glarus and St. Gallen and part of the boundary between the cantons of St. Gallen and

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

. The river lends its name to the former

canton of Linth Linth was a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of Glarus and its subject County of Werdenberg, the Höfe and March districts of Schwyz and the Züricher subject Lordship of Sax, along with a handful of shared terri ...

(1798–1803).

Course of the river

The river rises to the south-west of the village of Linthal, at the foot the Tödi mountain (elevation ). It collects the water from several glaciers, including the

Clariden Glacier The Clariden is a mountain in the Glarus Alps, located at an elevation of between the Swiss cantons of Uri and Glarus. While on the north the Clariden overlooks the high Klausen Pass, the south side is covered by large glaciers. The Hüfifirn ...

and the

Biferten Glacier The Biferten Glacier () is a glacier (2005) situated in the Glarus Alps in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . The glacier is located east of the Tödi. See also *List of glaciers in Switzerland *Swiss Alps The Al ...

, as well as various tributary streams, including the ''Oberstafelbach'', the ''Bifertenbach'', the ''Sandbach'', the ''Walenbach'' and the ''Limmerenbach''. The last of these is dammed to create the

Limmerensee Limmernsee (or Limmerensee) is a reservoir in the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland, between the peaks of Muttenchopf (2,482 m), Selbsanft (2,950 m) and Kistenstöckli (2,746 m). It may be reached by aerial tramway or by foot from Linthal. The L ...

, a part of the Linth–Limmern hydro-electric scheme. The river then flows north to the village of Linthal, the highest significant settlement on the river, and onwards through the

canton of Glarus The canton of Glarus ( ; ; ; ) is a cantons of Switzerland, canton in east-central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of the population (81%) identifies as Christianity in Switzer ...

villages of Rüti, Betschwanden, Diesbach, Hätzingen,

Luchsingen Luchsingen is a village and former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the municipality of Glarus Süd and canton of Glarus in Switzerland. History Luchsingen is first mentioned in 1274 as ''Luchsingen''. In 2004 the former municipali ...

, Leuggelbach, Haslen,

Nidfurn Nidfurn is a village, and former municipality, in the municipality of Glarus Süd and canton of Glarus in Switzerland. History Nidfurn is first mentioned in 1289 as ''Nitfúre''. Nidfurn belonged to Säckingen Abbey until 1395. During the Mid ...

and Schwanden. In Schwanden, the Linth is joined by one of its principal tributaries, the Sernf, which drains the south-eastern part of the canton of Glarus. From Schwanden, the river continues to flow north through the villages of

Mitlödi Mitlödi is a village and former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, in the municipality of Glarus Süd and canton of Glarus in Switzerland. History Mitlödi is first mentioned in 1320 as ''Mitlodi''. The coat of arms was officially adop ...

and

Ennenda Ennenda is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Ennenda is part of the municipality of Glarus. History Ennenda is first mentioned around 1303-07 as ''Obront-Ennant-A'' and ''Nydern-Ennant-A'' ...

and the town of Glarus before reaching the village of

Netstal Netstal is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Netstal is part of the municipality of Glarus. History Netstal is first mentioned in 1289 as ''Netstal''. Geogr ...

. In Netstal, the Linth is joined by the Löntsch, which drains the

Klöntalersee Klöntalersee is a natural lake in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland and covers the major part of the valley floor. Since 1908, it has been used as a reservoir for electricity production. The dam's construction substantially increased the lake's ...

. The Linth then flows between the villages Näfels and Mollis, from where it formerly flowed in a northerly direction to a confluence with its tributary outfall from

Lake Walen Lake Walen, also known as Lake Walenstadt or (), is one of the larger lakes in Switzerland. Located in the east of the country, about two thirds of its area are in the canton of St. Gallen and about one third in the canton of Glarus. Its na ...

(Walensee) on the Linth Plain, and then across that plain in a westerly direction to its mouth at the head of the Obersee section of

. As a result of the river regulation works (see below), the river is today diverted down an artificial channel in an easterly direction into Lake Walen. Another artificial channel (the Linth Channel) then takes the outfall of Lake Walen at Weesen and flows west through the Linth Plain and into the Obersee.

River regulation of the Linth

The taming of the Linth () from 1807 to 1823 was one of the great engineering feats of the early 19th century, the earliest project of such a size undertaken by the new Swiss state, and a great example of solidarity in early Switzerland. In the second half of the 18th century, the situation of the population in the lower Glarus valley, the Linth Plain and around Lake Walen, was pretty disastrous: cutting down the woods of the Glarus valley during early industrialization led to more and more gravel coming down with the yearly spring high water which was deposited at the joining of Linth and Maag, the outflow of the Lake Walen, in the plain between Lake Walen and Lake Zurich. This caused frequent floodings and backing up of water which made the level of Lake Walen rise several meters and turned the whole countryside into swamps. Agriculture became more and more difficult, the poverty increased, and diseases like

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

were rampant. The

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Conrad Escher (later named "von der Linth") from Zurich developed and executed the plan of channeling the Linth into Lake Walen, where the gravel could be deposited without damage. A second channel, the Linth Channel, connected the lakes of Walen and Zurich, replacing the former Maag. The river regulation put an end to the floodings, lowered the level of Lake Walen by some 5.4 meters which greatly improved living conditions for the population, and dried up the swamps, resulting in 20 km²

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

in the Linth plain.

References

External links

*
Doctoral Thesis of Daniel Speich, ETH Zurich (German)

* ttps://maps.google.com/maps?ll=46.983032,9.009476&spn=0.312458,0.481407&t=k&hl=en the Linth valley on Google Maps {{Authority control Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of the canton of Glarus Rivers of the canton of St. Gallen Rivers of the canton of Schwyz Tributaries of Lake Zurich Glarus–St. Gallen border Schwyz–St. Gallen border