The Lötschberg is an Alpine mountain massif, usually associated with a major, historically important transit axis of the Alps in Switzerland with, at its core, the Lötschen Pass ( German : Lötschenpass , Swiss German : Lötschepass ). The mountain pass, which culminates at nearly 2,700 metres above sea level, are part of the eastern Bernese Alps , whose main crest straddles the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais . The valleys concerned by the Lötschberg are those of the Kander in the Berner Oberland , with Kandersteg at the head of it, and a secluded side-valley of the Upper Valais, the Lötschental , with Ferden at the valley's entrance and at the bottom of the pass.
76-748: Although the Lötschberg is one of the main north-south axes through the Alps, it is not on the main chain of the Alps , the Pennine Alps , further south, making up the main water divide. As a main north-south axis through the Alps, the Lötschberg is thus completed by the Simplon , between Brig and Domodossola in Italy. The Lötschberg alone constitutes an important shortcut from the Swiss Plateau to
152-805: A change in the main chain: the peaks and passes are lower, but as far as the Splugenpass, all the highest summits rise on the divide. From there to the St. Gotthard pass (2,106 m) the divide runs north-east, crossing Monte Leone (3,533 m), and Pizzo Rotondo (3,192 m). Near the Witenwasserenstock is the point where the basin of the Po, the Rhine and the Rhone meet, and the European Watershed joins
228-506: A height of 1,240 metres and is the highest railway on the main Swiss network . The second line, since 2007, uses the 34.6 kilometre-long Lötschberg Base Tunnel , which has its portals in Frutigen (BE) and Raron (VS). The maximum height of the new railway is 828 metres. Both railways are connected to the Simplon railway , which runs from Lausanne to Domodossola (and further to Milan) via
304-463: A trail (reaching 2,690 m) from Kandersteg via the secluded valley of Gasterntal to Ferden. The complete traverse from the railway station of Kandersteg to that of Goppenstein lasts about 10 hours. On the south side the approach can be shortened by a few hours starting from Lauchernalp , accessible by cable car from Kippel . Main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps , also called
380-465: Is controlled with embankments . The river flows through many important Italian cities, including Turin , Piacenza , Cremona and Ferrara . It is connected to Milan through a net of channels called navigli , which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called Po di Maestra , Po della Pila , Po delle Tolle , Po di Gnocca and Po di Goro ) at
456-429: Is now degrading. Venice , which was originally built on islands off the coast, is most at risk due to subsidence, but the effect is realized in the Po delta as well. The causes are first a decrease in the sedimentation rate due to the locking of sediment behind hydroelectric dams and the deliberate excavation of sand from rivers for industrial purposes. Second, agricultural use of the river is heavy; during peak consumption
532-787: Is the highest peak of the Eastern Alps while the highest peak of the Western Alps is Mont Blanc (4,810.45 metres). From the Maloja Pass (1,815 m) the main watershed dips to the south-east for a short distance, and then runs eastwards and nearly over the highest summit of the Bernina Range , Piz Bernina (4,049 m), to the Bernina Pass . From here the main chain is less well defined, it rises to Piz Paradisin (3,302 m), beyond which it runs slightly north-east, east of
608-610: Is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps . The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira , a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso . The Po then extends along
684-839: Is the product of the islands of the northern ocean ( Baltic Sea )" and attributes its introduction into the Po Valley to the Veneti , the last link in a trade route to the north through Pannonia . Pliny ( Hist. Nat. , iii. 122) also gives the Ligurian name of the Po as Bodincus , which he translates as "bottomless". The root bod- has been generally analyzed as containing the PIE base * bhu(n)d(h) - seen in Sanskrit budhnah and Avestan buna - "bottom", Greek pythmen "foundation", Latin fundus "bottom", Old Irish bond "sole of
760-605: The 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice . It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to the Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge. As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length
836-453: The Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest peaks of a range. The Alps are something of an unusual case in that several significant groups of mountains are separated from the main chain by sizable distances. Among these groups are
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#1732794395354912-669: The Busa di Tramontana to the north and the Busa di Scirocco to the south, while the mainstream, the Busa Dritta , enters Punta Maistra and exits finally past Pila lighthouse. Despite the park administration's definition of the active delta as beginning at Porto Viro, there is another active channel upstream from it at Santa Maria in Punta, where the Fiume Po divides into the Po di Goro and
988-679: The Col de Tenda the direction is first roughly west, then north-west to the Rocca dei Tre Vescovi (2,840 m), just south of the Enciastraia (2,955 m), several peaks of about 3,000 metres rising on the watershed , though the highest of all, the Punta dell'Argentera (3,297 m) stands a little way to its north. From the Rocher des Trois Eveques the drainage divide runs due north for a long distance, though of
1064-698: The Dauphine Alps , the Eastern and Western Graians , the entire Bernese Alps , the Tödi , Albula and Silvretta groups, the Ortler and Adamello ranges, and the Dolomites of Veneto and South Tyrol , as well as the lower Alps of Vorarlberg , Bavaria, and Salzburg . The Alpine Divide is defined for much of its distance by the watershed between the drainage basin of the Po in Italy on one side, with
1140-844: The Eastern Alps the longest glacier was the Pasterze Glacier ( 8.4 km or 5 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi in 1911), which is not near the true main watershed, though it clings to the slope of the Grossglockner (3,798 m) in the Hohe Tauern range east of the Dreiherrenspitze. But two other long glaciers in the Eastern Alps (the Hintereis , and the Gepatsch ) are both in the Ötztal Alps, and so are close to
1216-598: The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive , 2000/60/EC. This takes in water management and flood risk plans antecedent. Between 2009 and 2015 the Po Valley Project (the implementation of the plan) took more than 60 measures, notably to: heighten and strengthen levees , increase flood-meadows , resume natural sediment transport and deposition points, enlarge wetlands, afforest, re-nature, promote biodiversity and recreational use. In Roman times
1292-701: The Grossvenediger (3,666 m), passing just north of Austria's highest peak (the Grossglockner ), traversing Ankogel (3,252 m), before curving northern across the Lower Tauern , traversing its highest peak, Hochgolling (2,863 m) in the Schladming Tauern and then continuing on the same eastward path up to the Schober Pass in Styria . The drainage divide further runs eastwards through
1368-695: The Jungfrau to the east, making up the water divide between the Rhine (north) and the Rhone (south). On the north side of the pass is a two kilometre-long glacier named Lötschengletscher . Although it is a glacier pass, the Lötschen Pass can be crossed by hikers without mountaineering equipment and a mountain hut, the Lötschenpasshütte , is located on the top of the pass. The pass is traversed by
1444-540: The Last Glacial Maximum around 20,000 years ago, which brought the Adriatic to a high point at about 5,500 years ago. Since then the Po delta had been prograding . The rate of coastal zone progradation between 1000 BC and 1200 AD was 4 m/yr. Human factors, however, brought about a change in the equilibrium in the mid-20th century with the result that the entire coastline of the northern Adriatic
1520-695: The Miocene Epoch, the Messinian (7–5 mya ), the Messinian salinity crisis , a near drying of the Mediterranean, was caused by the sea level dropping below the sill at the Strait of Gibraltar and the equilibrium between evaporation and replenishment shifting in favor of evaporation. At that time the Po Valley and the Adriatic depression were a single canyon system thousands of feet deep. On
1596-704: The Northern Limestone Alps , ending at " Vienna Gate", the steep slopes of the Leopoldsberg (425 m) high above the Danube water gap and the Vienna Basin . Starting from the Bocchetta di Altare or di Colle di Cadibona (west of Savona ), the main chain extends first south-west, then north-west to the Col de Tenda , though nowhere rising much beyond the zone of coniferous trees. Beyond
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#17327943953541672-565: The Parco Regionale Veneto , one of the tracts under the authority of the Parco Delta del Po , contains the latest branches of the Po. The Po di Gnocca branches to the south followed by the Po di Maestra to the north at Porto Tolle . At Tolle downstream the Po di Venezia divides into the Po delle Tolle to the south and the Po della Pila to the north. The former exits at Bonelli. The latter divides again at Pila into
1748-415: The Po di Venezia . The fossil Po is the region of no longer active channels from the Po to the sea. It begins upstream from Ferrara . The Fiume Po currently flowing to the north of Ferrara is the result of a diversion at Ficarolo in 1152 made in the hope of relieving flooding in the vicinity of Ravenna . The diversion channel was at first called the Po di Ficarolo . The Fiume Po before then followed
1824-495: The Po di Volano , no longer connected to the Po, which ran to the south of Ferrara and exited near Volano . In Roman times it did not exit there but ran to the south as the Padus Vetus ("old Po") exiting near Comacchio , from which split the Po di Primaro exiting close to Ravenna . Before 1152 the seaward extension of today's delta, about 12 km (7.5 mi), did not exist. The entire region from Ravenna to Chioggia
1900-669: The Pointe de Charbonnel (3,760 m), stands a little to the west. Once more the chain bends to the north-west, rising in several lofty peaks (the highest is the Aiguille de la Grande Sassière , 3,751 m), before attaining the considerable depression of the Little St Bernard Pass . The divide then briefly turns north to the Col de la Soigne , and then north-east along the crest of the Mont Blanc chain, which culminates in
1976-641: The Simplon Tunnel . Unlike the Gotthard , the other main north-south axis in Switzerland, the Lötschberg is not crossed by a road pass nor by a road tunnel. However, a car shuttle train is operated between Kandersteg railway station and Goppenstein railway station . The Lötschen Pass itself is the lowest point (2,676 m) on the crest between the Balmhorn to the west and the high range west of
2052-477: The Taglio di Porto Viro , "Porto Viro cut-off". Their intent was to stop the gradual migration of the Po toward the lagoon of Venice, which would have filled up with sediment had contact been made. The subsequent town of Taglio di Po grew around the diversionary works. The lock of Volta Grimana blocked the old channel, now the Po di Levante , which flows to the Adriatic through Porto Levante. Below Taglio di Po
2128-710: The Timmelsjoch (2,474 m) and rising again in Stubai Alps Both the highest summits of the Ötztal and the Stubai, the Wildspitze (3,774 m) and the Zuckerhütl (3,505 m), stand a little to the north. The Brenner (1,370 m) is the lowest of all the great road passes across the core part of the main chain and has always been the chief means of communication between Germany and Italy. For some way beyond it,
2204-747: The Vinschgau of the upper Adige, is one of the most remarkable features in the orography of the Alps. The little Reschen Lake , which forms the chief source of the Adige, is only 4 metres below the Pass, and 8 km from the Inn valley. Eastward of this pass, the main chain runs north-east to the Brenner Pass along the snowy crest of the Ötztal , the highest point being the Weißkugel (3,739 m), then crossing
2280-424: The canton of Valais is drained by the Diveria . A minute section of the Po basin belongs to France in the Vallée Étroite [ it ; fr ] (literally, the Narrow Valley) running from Mont Thabor to the Italian ski resort of Bardonecchia . Although in France, Vallée Étroite is so remote it is essentially administered by Italy (telephone network, rubbish collections, etc. ). Further minuscule parts of
2356-452: The comuni of Alfonsine, Argenta, Cervia, Codigoro, Comacchio, Goro, Mesola, Ostellato and Ravenna. The 53,653 ha (132,580 acres) of the park contain wetlands, forest, dunes and salt pans. It has a high biodiversity , with 1,000–1,100 plant species and 374 vertebrate species, of which 300 are birds. The most recent part of the delta, which projects into the Adriatic between Chioggia and Comacchio , contains channels that connect to
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2432-404: The drainage basin – nearly three times higher than estimated. On February 24, 2010, the Po was contaminated by an oil spill coming from a refinery in Villasanta through the Lambro , the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata news agency has estimated it to be about 600,000 liters. Until 1989 water resources were administered regionally or locally. The major authority on the lower Po
2508-399: The Adriatic and therefore is called the active delta by the park authorities, whereas the fossil delta contains channels that no longer connect the Po to the Adriatic (but once did). The active delta was created in 1604 when the city of Venice diverted the main stream, the Po grande or Po di Venezia , from its channel north of Porto Viro to the south of Porto Viro in a channel then called
2584-471: The Alpine divide here, heading north, while the divide continues east to the Maloja Pass (1,815 m). The main chain has more glaciers and eternal snow than the independent or external ranges . The longest of these were both 14.9 kilometres ( 9 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles) a century ago, the Mer de Glace at Chamonix (now 7.6 km or 4 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi) and the Gorner Glacier at Zermatt (now 12.5 km or 7 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi). In
2660-412: The Alpine divide. From the St. Gotthard to the Maloja the watershed between the basins of the Rhine and Po runs in a generally easterly direction. It goes over Passo del Lucomagno (1,915 m), across Scopi (3,200 m), Piz Medel (3,210 m) and Piz Terri (3,149 m), where it turns towards the south to the Rheinwaldhorn (3,402 m). Here the divide veers back east over the Vogelberg (3,220 m) to
2736-415: The Apennines filled the valley and the central Adriatic generally to a depth of 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) but from 2,000 m (6,600 ft) to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) off the current mouth of the Po, with pockets as deep as 6,000 m (20,000 ft). At the start of the Pleistocene the valley was full. Cycles of transgression and regression are detectable in
2812-414: The Elder has the most to say about the Padus of his times. Herodotus had expressed doubt concerning the existence of a river in Europe, Eridanos , which flowed into the northern sea, he said, from which amber came. He believed it was a Greek name (there are other Eridanos rivers in Greece), "invented by some poet," but makes no conjectures as to where it might be. Pliny points out that in his own time
2888-423: The Eridanos had become wrongly identified with the Padus . He does not know when or how, but like Herodotus, he blames the poets. Amber is supposed to have come from there. Phaëthon , son of the sun, struck by lightning changed into poplars and exuded tears every year, which is the source of amber (a myth of Pausanias ). Expressing surprise at the ignorance of the poets, Pliny says "There can be no doubt that amber
2964-421: The Italian resort of Livigno , past Fraele Pass (1,952 m) and the source of the Adda , traverses Piz Murtarol (3,180 m) and Monte Forcola , where is the tripoint between the Danube, Po and Adige basins, then falls to the Ofen Pass (2,149 m), soon heads north and rises once more in Piz Sesvenna (3,204 m). The Reschen Pass (1,504 m) marks a break in the continuity of the Alpine chain. The deep valley,
3040-512: The Ministry of Public Works, headed by a chairman appointed by the Head of State and the Council of Ministers. Its headquarters are in Venice. Its domain is the management and protection of the water system in Veneto , Mantua , Trento , Bolzano and Friuli-Venezia Giulia . In 1989 in response to the major geologic problems that were developing along the river Law no. 183/89 was passed authorizing The Po Basin Water Board (Autorità di bacino del fiume Po), which would direct operations concerning all
3116-418: The Po basin as coolant. Drainage from the north is mediated through several large, scenic lakes, commonly referred to as the Italian Lakes , and shared with Switzerland. The streams are now controlled by so many dams as to slow the river's sedimentation rate, causing geologic problems. The expansive, moist and fertile flood plain is reserved mainly for agriculture and is subject to flash floods , even though
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3192-420: The Po's basin (measurable in the hundreds of metres of linear distance) within France are found in the form of small streamheads forced into France by the 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris as a punitive measure against Italy. These can be found on the Mont Cenis and Mongenevre passes. The former contains a reservoir dammed at the Po end and so technically constitutes part of its basin, although it contributes little to
3268-477: The Po, for which the European Environment Agency cited the city. Since 2005, all sewage from Milan is treated in plants at Nosedo, San Rocco and Peschiera Borromeo. These treat the sewage from over 2.5 million inhabitants. In 2005, water from the Po was found to contain much benzoylecgonine , passed by cocaine users in urine . Based on these figures, cocaine consumption was estimated to be about 4 kg daily, or 27 doses per day per thousand young adults in
3344-455: The Po. Nine gates are 6.5 m (21 ft) high and two are 8 m (26 ft) high for sediment-scouring purposes. A spillway to the right passes through a hydroelectric station of 4 generators of 76 MW each operated by a 3.5–11 m (11–36 ft) head of water. The spillway connects to a diversionary canal subtending a 12 km (7.5 mi) loop of the Po. A ship lock 85 m (279 ft) long and 12 m (39 ft) wide next to
3420-435: The San Bernardino Pass (2,067 m), then over the Pizzo Tambo (3,279 m), the Splugenpass (2,114 m) and Piz Timun (3,209 m). From here the divide heads south again to Pizzo Stella (3,163 m) and then east over Pizz Gallagiun (3,107 m), to where, near the Lunghin pass , it reaches the main triple divide of the Alps: where water can flow to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean or the Black Sea. The main European watershed leaves
3496-440: The Upper Valais, the alternative route involving a long detour via the lower Rhone Valley ( Monthey ) around the western end of the Bernese Alps. The Lötschberg is crossed by two railway lines and tunnels. The first line, the Lötschberg railway line was opened to traffic in 1913. It has at its centre the 14.6 kilometre-long Lötschberg (Culmination) Tunnel , with portals in Kandersteg (BE) and Goppenstein (VS). It culminates at
3572-403: The area, at the time nearly one-third of the population of Italy. The two main economic uses of the valley are for industry and for agriculture. The industrial centres, such as Turin and Milan, are located on higher terrain, away from the river. They rely for power on the numerous hydroelectric stations in or on the flanks of the Alps, and on the coal/oil power stations which use the water of
3648-416: The east to the Simplon Pass . It is in the portion of the watershed between the Grande St Bernard Pass and the Simplon that the main chain maintains a greater average height than in any other part. But, though it rises in a number of lofty peaks, such as the Mont Vélan (3,727 m), the Matterhorn (4,478 m), the Lyskamm (4,533 m), the Nord End of Monte Rosa (4,575 m), and the Weissmies (4,023 m), many of
3724-528: The flow in places nearly dries up, causing local contention. As a result of decreased flow, salt water is intruding into the aquifers and coastal ground water. Eutrophication in standing waters and streams of low flow is on the increase. The valley is subsiding due to the extraction of ground water. Always prone to fog, the valley is subject to heavy smog due to industrial atmospheric emissions, especially from Turin . The city of Milan had no sewage treatment plants. Sewage went through channels directly into
3800-408: The foot". The word Bodincus appears in the place name Bodincomagus , a Ligurian town on the right bank of the Po downstream from today's Turin. The Po, along with other rivers in northern Italy , was the scene of numerous military episodes throughout the Middle Ages and all the major cities and coastal lordships were equipped with real river fleets. Particularly violent were the clashes between
3876-465: The highest points of the region, such as the Grand Combin (4,314 m), the Dent Blanche (4,357 m), the Weisshorn (4,505 m), the true summit or Dufourspitze (4,634 m) of Monte Rosa itself, and the Dom (4,545 m), all rise on its northern slope and not on the main chain. On the other hand, the chain between the Grande St Bernard and the Simplon sinks at barely half a dozen points below a level of 3,000 metres. The Simplon Pass (1.994 m) corresponds to
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#17327943953543952-574: The institution of two regional parks in the regions in which it is situated: Veneto and Emilia-Romagna . The Po Delta Regional Park in Emilia-Romagna, the largest, consists of four parcels of land on the right bank of the Po and to the south. Created by law in 1988, it was managed by a consortium, the Consorzio per la gestione del Parco , to which Ferrara and Ravenna provinces belong as well as nine comuni : Comacchio , Argenta , Ostellato , Goro , Mesola , Codigoro , Ravenna , Alfonsine , and Cervia . Executive authority resided in an assembly of
4028-405: The late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire , long after the valley had been occupied successively by prehistoric and historic peoples: Ligures , Etruscans , Celts , Veneti , Umbri , and Romans. At that late date, the ancient authors were attempting to explain the provenance of the name. Perhaps the earliest of these, Polybius (2nd century BC), uses Pados (in Greek) and says that it
4104-463: The left, looking downstream ): The Reno (R) was a tributary of the Po until the middle of the eighteenth century when the course was diverted to lessen the risk of devastating floods. The Tanaro is about 50 km (31 mi) longer than the upper Po at their confluence near Alessandria . The longest tributaries of the Po are Adda (313 km), Oglio (280 km), Tanaro (276 km) and Ticino (248 km). The Po Delta wetlands have been protected by
4180-405: The other side of the divide being formed by the Rhone , the Rhine and the Danube . Further east, the watershed is between the Adige and the Danube , before heading into Austria and draining on both sides into the Danube. For much of its distance the watershed lies on or close to the Italian border, although there are numerous deviations, notably, the Swiss canton of Ticino which lies south of
4256-411: The overall quantity of water is lower than in the past and lower than demand. The main products of the farms around the river are cereals including – unusually for Europe – rice , which requires heavy irrigation . The latter method is the chief consumer of surface water, while industrial and human consumption use underground water. The Po has 141 tributaries . They include (R on the right bank, L on
4332-458: The peak of Mont Blanc (4,810 m), the highest in the Alps. A number of high peaks line the divide, notably the Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) before it reaches Mont Dolent (3,823 m), where France, Italy and Switzerland meet. From there, after a short dip to the south-east, the chain takes, near the Great St. Bernard Pass , a generally eastern direction that it maintains until it reaches Monte Rosa , where it bends northwards, making one small dip to
4408-431: The presidents of the provinces, the mayors of the comuni and the board of directors. They employed a Technical-Scientific Committee and a Park Council to carry out directives. In 1999 the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was added to "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta." From 2012 the park is managed by the Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità - Delta del Po , composed by
4484-420: The range in the Po river basin. For only a small portion of its total distance does the Alpine divide form a part of the main European watershed , in the central section where the watershed is between the Po and the Rhine. The Alps are generally divided into Eastern Alps and Western Alps , cut along a line between Lake Como and Lake Constance , following the Rhine valley. Piz Bernina (4,049 metres)
4560-402: The river. However, transit is severely hampered during summer months by low water levels. At the village of Isola Serafini in the comune of Monticelli d'Ongina , Piacenza Province , 40 km (25 mi) downstream from Piacenza, a 362 m (1,188 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) high gate dam featuring eleven 30 m (98 ft) openings gated by vertical lift gates, crosses
4636-413: The severity, resulting in a "decrease in precipitation during critical crop growing seasons". In July 2022, the Italian government declared a state of emergency in the regions Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Water levels decreased and revealed large riverbed areas and lost objects. The Po is first certainly identified in the Graeco-Roman historians and geographers of
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#17327943953544712-434: The southern part of which is Comacchio , an area famous for eels . The Po Valley was the territory of Roman Cisalpine Gaul , divided into Cispadane Gaul (south of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (north of the Po). The Po has a drainage area of 74,000 km in all, 70,000 of those being in Italy, of which 41,000 is in montane environments and 29,000 on the plain. The slope of the Po's river valley decreases from 0.35% in
4788-426: The southwest the Apennine Mountains bordered a land mass termed Tyrrhenis geologically. Their orogeny was just being completed in the Miocene. On the north the Alpine Orogeny had already created the Alps . At the end of the Messinian the ocean broke through the sill and the Mediterranean refilled. The Adriatic transgressed into all of northern Italy. In the subsequent Pliocene sedimentary outwash primarily from
4864-448: The station passes some traffic through the canal, but above the dam traffic is mainly barges. The average flow at the dam is 854 m /s, with a 12,800 m /s maximum. The historic average flow for June is 1,805 cubic metres per second. In late June 2022, the flow measured in Ferrara fell below an average of 145 cubic metres per second. Climate change has caused several droughts across Northern Italy, with predictions for their frequency and
4940-435: The true main watershed . [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Lake, Philip ; Knox, Howard; Coolidge, W. A. B. (1911). " Alps ". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 737–754. Po (river) The Po ( / p oʊ / POH , Italian: [ˈpɔ] )
5016-416: The two loftiest peaks of this region one, the Aiguille de Chambeyron (3,412 m), is just to the west, and the other, the Monviso (3,841 m), is just to the east of the divide. From the head of the Val Pellice the main chain runs north-west and diminishes much in average height until it reaches the Mont Thabor (3,178 m), which forms the apex of a salient angle which the main chain here presents towards
5092-529: The valley and the Adriatic as far as its centre and in the southern Adriatic. From the Pleistocene alternation of maritime and alluvial sediments occur as far west as Piacenza . The exact sequences at various locations have been studied extensively. Apparently the sea advanced and receded over the valley in conformance to an equilibrium between sedimentation and glacial advance or recession at 100,000-year intervals and 100 m (330 ft) to 120 m (390 ft) fluctuation of sea level. An advance began after
5168-461: The water flow as the water is, by definition, retained by the dam. The Po is the longest river in Italy; at its widest point it is 503 m (1,650 ft) across. The vast valley around the Po is called the Po Basin or Po Valley (Italian Pianura Padana or Val Padana ); the main industrial area and the largest agricultural area in the country - accounting for 35% of Italian agricultural production . In 2002, more than 16 million people lived in
5244-439: The water resources in the Po basin (see under Po Valley ). Its headquarters have been in Parma since its inception in 1990. It considers itself a synergy among all the institutions concerned with the preservation and development of the Po basin. It is administered by officials chosen from the administrations of the constituent regions and provinces. In 2009 the water board began its Integrated River Basin Management Plan to meet
5320-428: The watershed runs eastwards over the highest crest of the Zillertal Alps , which attains 3,510 metres in the Hochfeiler . But, a little farther, at the Dreiherrnspitze (3,499 m), the chain splits: the main watershed between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean heads south, along the Rieserferner Group to the Dolomites , and Julian Alps . The main alpine divide head east, traversing the High Tauern range, crossing
5396-431: The waterway was navigable as far upstream as Turin . Today the waterway is navigable for substantial craft (up to 1350 tonnes —the European Class IV waterway standard ) from Cremona to the river delta on the Adriatic . Passage by smaller vessels is available for some distance above Cremona. In the lower reaches the surrounding basin is generally flat and it is served by a complicated network of small canals linked to
5472-599: The west to 0.14% in the east, a low gradient. Along its path lie 450 standing lakes. Almost all of the rest of the non-Italy basin is in Switzerland , primarily in the canton of Ticino , which is essentially drained by the river Ticino rising in the Gotthard Area , and includes Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano . A small part of the canton of Grisons drains to the Po, partly via the Ticino. The Simplon Valley in
5548-516: The west. From here the divide extends eastwards, culminating in the Aiguille de Scolette (3,505 m), but makes a great curve to the north-west and back to the south-east before rising in the Rocciamelone (3,509 m). From there the direction taken is north as far as the eastern summit (3,619 m) of the Levanna , the divide rising in a series of snowy peaks, though the loftiest point of the region,
5624-643: Was dense swamps, explaining why the Via Aemilia was constructed between Rimini and Piacenza and did not begin further north. The Mediterranean Basin is a depression in the Earth 's crust caused by the African Plate slipping under the Eurasian Plate . Typically in geologic history the depression is filled with sea water under various geologic names such as Tethys Sea . In the last period of
5700-585: Was the Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia , first formed in the 16th-century Republic of Venice . It made all the decisions concerning the diversion of the lower river. Most part of the delta is still in Veneto . In 1907 under the Kingdom of Italy the agency became the Magistrato alle Acque and took responsibility for all the water resources in northeastern Italy. Currently it is a decentralized institution of
5776-484: Was to be identified with the Eridanos of the poets. Moreover, the country people call it Bodencus . This implies that a "country" population either remained from prehistoric times or adopted the name in use by that substrate. The name has been segmented as Bod-encus or Bod-incus , the suffix being characteristic of the ancient Ligurian language of northern Italy, southern France, Corsica and elsewhere. Pliny
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