| Vorderrhein Anterior Rhine | |
|---|---|
 The Vorderrhein in theRuinaulta gorge | |
 Area of the Alpine Rhine with its headwaters | |
| Native name |
|
| Location | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Grisons |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lai Urlaun |
| • coordinates | 46°37′34″N8°41′04″E / 46.62611°N 8.68444°E /46.62611; 8.68444 |
| Mouth | |
• location | Reichenau |
• coordinates | 46°49′24″N9°24′28″E / 46.82333°N 9.40778°E /46.82333; 9.40778 |
• elevation | 585 m (1,919 ft) |
| Length | 76 km (47 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,512 km2 (584 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 53.8 m3/s (1,900 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Rhine→North Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Aua da Russein,Flem,Schmuèr,Ual da Mulin |
| • right | Glenner,Rabiusa,Rein da Curnera,Rein da Medel,Rein da Nalps,Rein da Sumvitg |
TheVorderrhein (German:[ˈfɔʁdɐˌʁaɪn]ⓘ;Sursilvan:Rein Anteriurⓘ;Sutsilvan:Ragn Anteriur;Rumantsch Grischun,Vallader, andPuter:Rain Anteriur;Surmiran:Ragn anteriour), orAnterior Rhine, is the left of the two initialtributaries of theRhine (the other being theHinterrhein). It is longer than theHinterrhein, but has a lowerdischarge than the latter at theirconfluence, which marks the beginning of theAlpine Rhine section.
TheVorderrhein and nearly all of its tributaries are located in theSwisscanton ofGrisons (Graubünden), with the largest communities along the river beingDisentis andIlanz. One of its upper tributaries, theRein da Medel, rises in thecanton of Ticino.
Vorderrhein was also the name of a judicial district that was created in 1851 with the reorganization of the judiciary of Graubünden. In 2001, it was annexed by theDistrict Surselva.
TheVorderrhein flows mostly in an east-northeast direction, through theSurselva, a largelongitudinal valley. Its north side is steep, with short valleys; the southern side, however, is divided by some long valleys (similarly to the situation in thecanton of Valais further west). Consequently, its main tributaries, the Rein da Sumvitg, theGlenner and theRabiusa, all come from the south, or right side of theVorderrhein. In its lower course, the Vorderrhein flows through theFlims Rockslide, giving rise to the canyon country of theRuinaulta. NearReichenau, it joins theHinterrhein to form the Alpine Rhine, which continues toLake Constance (Bodensee).
Thecatchment area of theVorderrhein, measuring 1,512 square kilometres (584 square miles), is located predominantly in thecanton ofGrisons (Graubünden),Switzerland. TheVorderrhein is about 76 kilometres (47 mi) long, thus more than 5% longer than theHinterrhein (each measured to the farthest source). TheVorderrhein, however, has an average water flow of 53.8 m3/s (1,900 cu ft/s), which is less than the flow of theHinterrhein (59.6 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s)).[1]
According to the Atlas of Switzerland of theSwiss Federal Office of Topography,[2] the source of the Vorderrhein—and thus of the Rhine—is located north of theRein da Tuma andLake Toma.
Some of thetributaries of theVorderrhein are almost as long as the main branch. In downstream order, they are (measuring their length from their respective sources to the confluence with theHinterrhein at Reichenau, nearBonaduz):
Thus, the longer arms are not the source at Oberalppass, but further southeast. The longest headwater of theVorderrhein (and thus the Rhine as a whole; seesources of the Rhine), is the Reno di Medel, which rises on the border of the municipalityQuinto in Ticino. In the uppermost part of its course, it runs in the Val Cadlimo, south of the geomorphological main Alpine ridge, west of theLukmanier Pass.
The high point of theVorderrhein'sdrainage basin is thePiz Russein of the Tödi massif of theGlarus Alps at 3,613 metres (11,854 ft) above sea level. It starts with the creek Aua da Russein (lit. 'Waters of the Russein').[3]
Witenwasserenstock mountain is thetriple divide of the drainage basins between the rivers Rhine,Rhône andPo.
Thanks to its attractive scenery and some interesting passages, theVorderrhein is a popular river forpaddling andrafting, especially the section betweenIlanz andVersam.
Along entire length of theVorderrhein there are twonarrow-gauge railway lines. TheReichenau-Tamins–Disentis/Mustér railway is served by theRhätische Bahn betweenChur andDisentis/Mustér. FromDisentis, theFurka-Oberalp line, served by theMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn, runs over theOberalp Pass toAndermatt (canton of Uri) and onwards toBrig (canton ofValais).
In theRuinaulta area, the main road runs to the north of the river, and at its highest point, atFlims, it is about 480 metres (1,575 ft) above the Rhine.
The Senda Sursilvana, a hiking trail, leads from the Oberalp Pass along theVorderrhein in the direction ofChur.[4]
