Vorderrhein

Geschichte

The Vorderrhein is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area of 1512km2 is located predominantly in the canton of Graubünden . The Vorderrhein is about 76km long, thus more than 5% longer than the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur . The Vorderrhein, however, has an average water flow of 53.8m3/s, which is less than the flow of the Hinterrhein. According to the Atlas of Switzerland of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, the source of the Vorderrhein– and the Rhine –is located north of the Rein da Tuma and Lake Toma.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 the District Surselva.The largest communities along the Vorderrhein are Disentis and Ilanz.CourseThe Vorderrhein flows mostly in an east-northeast direction, through the Surselva, a large longitudinal valley. Its north side is steep, with short valleys, the southern side, however, is divided by some long valleys (similar to the situation in the Canton of Valais further west). Consequently, its main tributaries, the Rein da Sumvitg, the Glenner and the Rabiusa all come from the south. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through the Flims Rockslide, giving rise to the canyon country of the Ruinaulta. Near Reichenau, it joins the Hinterrhein to form the (Alpine) Rhine.