Inn (river)
| Inn Romansh:En | |
|---|---|
 Lower Inn valley from Rattenberg castle | |
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Swiss Alps(Lägh dal Lunghin) |
| • coordinates | 46°25′00″N9°40′35″E/ 46.41673°N 9.67645°E |
| • elevation | 2,484 m (8,150 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Danube(Passau) |
• coordinates | 48°34′25″N13°28′38″E/ 48.57353°N 13.47713°E |
• elevation | 291 m (955 ft) |
| Length | 518.5 km (322.2 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 26,053 km2(10,059 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 735 m3/s (26,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Danube→Black Sea |
TheInn(Latin:Aenus;[2]Romansh:En) is ariverinSwitzerland,AustriaandGermany.The 518 km (322 mi) long river is a righttributaryof theDanube,being the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of itsdrainage basinis the summit ofPiz Berninaat 4,049 m (13,284 ft). TheEngadine,the valley of the En, is the only Swiss valley whose waters end up in theBlack Sea(via the Danube).
Etymology[edit]
The name Inn is derived from the old Celtic wordsenandenios,meaningwater.In a document of 1338, the river was namedWasser(German for water). The first written mention from the years 105 to 109 (Publii Corneli Taciti historiarium liber tertius) reads: "... Sextilius Felix... ad occupandam ripam Aeni fluminis, quod Raetos Noricosque interfluit, missus..."("... Sextilius Felix was sent to capture the banks of the Inn, which flows between the Rhaetian people and the Noric people. ")[3]The river is also mentioned by other authors of the Roman Empire asAinos(Greek) orAenus(Latin). In medieval Latin it was written asEnusorOenus.The change in the old Bavarian language frometoiturned Enus toIn.Until the 17th century, it was written like this orYn,but alsoIhnorYhn.The double-n appeared only in the 16th century, for example in the Tyrolian Landreim of 1557, and since the 18th century this spelling and pronunciation with a short vowel has been customary.[4]
The mentions in Roman times refer to the lower course. The Tyrolean section was first called Aenus byVenantius Fortunatusin the 6th century. The nameEngadinand the Romansh nameEnindicate that the upper reaches of the river have always been called this way.[citation needed]Even though it was occasionally believed that the Inn originated near theAdigeat theReschen Pass,since the 16th century at the latest the origin has been seen uniformly in the area of the lakes at theMaloja Pass.[4]
A connection may exist between the name Inn and the name of the French riverAin.[5]
Geography[edit]
The source of the Inn is located in theSwiss Alps,west ofSt. Moritzin theEngadineregion, which is named after the river (RomanshEngiadina;Latinvallis Eniatina). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course,Lake SilsandLake Silvaplana.It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and fromLandeckeastwards through the Austrian state ofTyroland its capital,Innsbruck(bridge over the Inn), and crosses the border intoBavarianearKufstein.
On Bavarian territory the river runs northwards and passesRosenheim,Wasserburg am Inn,andWaldkraiburg;then it turns east, runs throughMühldorfandNeuöttingand is enlarged by two major tributaries, theAlzand theSalzach.From here to theDanube,it forms the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Upper Austria). Towns on this last section of the river areMarktl am Inn,Simbach on Inn,Braunau am InnandSchärding.
InPassauthe Inn finally enters the Danube (as does the riverIlzthere). Although the Inn has a greater average flow than the Danube when they converge in Passau, and its watershed contains the Piz Bernina, the highest point in the Danube watershed, the Inn is considered a tributary of the Danube, which has a greater length, drains a larger surface area, and has a more consistent flow. The Inn is the only river originating in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).
Tributaries[edit]
- Right tributaries (in downstream order):Flaz,Spöl,Clemgia,Faggenbach,Pitzbach,Ötztaler Ache,Melach,Sill,Ziller,Alpbach,Wildschönauer Ache,Brixentaler Ache,Weißache,Kaiserbach,Rohrdorfer Ache,Sims,Murn,Alz,Salzach,Enknach,Mattig,Ach,Hartbach,Antiesen,Pram
- Left tributaries (in downstream order; two different rivers called Rott exist):Beverin,Schergenbach,Sanna,Gurglbach,Höttinger Bach,Mühlauer Bach,Brandenberger Ache,Kieferbach,Auerbach,Kirchbach,Mangfall,Rott,Attel,Isen,Rott
Flow[edit]
The averagedischargeat themouthof the Inn is 735 m3/s (26,000 cu ft/s).[6]
Years 1921/2006[7]
2013 flood[edit]
On 3 June 2013 thedischargeof the Inn inPassaureached 6,820 m3/s (241,000 cu ft/s)[7]and the water levels reached 12.85 m (42.2 ft), the highest recorded historic flood level since 1501.[8]The historic centre of Passau, where theDanube,Inn andIlzconverge, was flooded severely.
Hydroelectric power plants[edit]
Currently, there are 24hydroelectricpower plants on the Inn. 17 of them are operated byVerbund AG.[9]The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters:
| Dam | Nameplate capacity (MW) | Annual generation (Mio. kwh) |
|---|---|---|
| Islas[10] | 4.3 | 17 |
| Ova Spin[11] | 50 | 100 |
| Pradella[12] | 288 | 1,000 |
| Martina | 70 | 290 |
| Imst[13] | 89 | 550 |
| Kirchbichl[14] | 19.3 | 131 |
| Langkampfen[15] | 31.5 | 169 |
| Oberaudorf-Ebbs | 60 | 268 |
| Nussdorf | 48 | 245.8 |
| Rosenheim | 35 | 179.5 |
| Feldkirchen | 38 | 204 |
| Wasserburg | 29 | 165.7 |
| Teufelsbruck | 25 | 150.4 |
| Gars | 30 | 169.2 |
| Jettenbach | 6 | 30.2 |
| Töging | 85 | 564.6 |
| Neuötting | 26 | 159.4 |
| Perach | 19 | 128.4 |
| Stammham | 23 | 136.4 |
| Braunau-Simbach | 100 | 550 |
| Ering-Frauenstein | 72 | 434 |
| Egglfing-Obernberg | 84 | 485 |
| Schärding-Neuhaus | 96 | 541.8 |
| Passau-Ingling | 86 | 504.7 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abComplete table of the Bavarian Waterbody Registerby the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (xls, 10.3 MB)
- ^Richard J.A. Talbert, ed. (2000).Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World: Map-By-Map Directory.Vol. I. Princeton, NJ and Oxford, UK: Princeton University Press. p. 171.ISBN0691049459.
- ^"Wolf-Armin Frhr. v. Reitzenstein: Lexikon bayerischer Ortsnamen. Herkunft und Bedeutung. C.H.Beck, Munich 2006
- ^abOtto Stolz:Geschichtskunde der Gewässer Tirols.Schlern-Schriften, Band 32, Innsbruck 1932, S. 6–14 und 83–88 (Digitalisat)
- ^Arnaud Vendryes:L'Ain: le nom d'une rivière à travers les sources.In: Société d'Emulation du Jura, Travaux 2015, S. 147–168
- ^"Danube River Basin District, Part A - Roof Report"(PDF).ICPDR.April 2004. p. 12.
- ^ab"Statistik Passau Ingling / Inn"(in German). www.hnd.bayern.de.Retrieved5 April2016.
- ^"Central Europe Hit by Rains, Floods and Landslides: AIR Analysis".www.insurancejournal.com. 6 April 2013.Retrieved5 April2016.
- ^"VERBUND on the Inn".Verbund.Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Elektrizitäts-Produktion"(in German). www.stmoritz-energie.ch.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Zentrale Ova Spin"(in German).Engadiner Kraftwerke.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Zentrale Pradella"(in German). Engadiner Kraftwerke.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Kraftwerk Imst"(in German).Tiroler Wasserkraft.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Kraftwerk Kirchbichl"(in German).Tiroler Wasserkraft.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Kraftwerk Langkampfen"(in German).Tiroler Wasserkraft.Retrieved18 January2016.
External links[edit]
- Inn (district and river)inRomansh,German,FrenchandItalianin the onlineHistorical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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