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19-861: The Vispa collects the waters from the Mattertal (formed by the Matter Vispa) and the Saastal (formed by the Saaser Vispa), the two highest valleys in Switzerland and the Pennine Alps . Both valleys have mountains over 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) above sea level, the highest being Monte Rosa , the Dom and the Weisshorn , and include numerous glaciers, large and small. As a result, the river

38-406: A thalweg helps stabilize natural rivers' course and depth. Placing boulders along the thalweg helps to protect the channel's sedimentary erosion and deposit balance. In concurrence with this, doing so along an instream to form artificial sills helps to slow the sedimentary erosion and deposit of watercourses, while keeping the esteem (fishing, local wildlife, and recreation) and natural resources of

57-518: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Switzerland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mattertal The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal , or sometimes Nikolaital ) is located in southwestern Switzerland , south of the Rhone valley in the canton of Valais . The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of

76-592: Is a compound noun that is built from the German elements Thal (since Duden 's orthography reform of 1901 written Tal ) meaning valley (cognate with dale in English), and Weg , meaning way. It means "valley way" and is used, with its modern spelling Talweg , in daily German to describe a path or road which follows the bottom of a valley, or in geography with the more technical meaning also adopted by English. In hydrological and fluvial landforms,

95-713: Is characterized by a glacial regime , similarly to the Massa , another nearby affluent of the Rhône. The Matter Vispa is the longest of the two branches. It is over 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, from the mouth of the Gorner Glacier to Stalden. It comprehends small but numerous affluents, notably the Gornera, Zmuttbach, Triftbach and Findelbach, all around Zermatt , but also the Täschbach and Schalibach, near Täsch , and

114-540: Is part of centuries-old custom and practice in some jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions and between some states the median line (between banks) is the preferred boundary presumption as may extend from estuaries. Also being easy to map, drawing "turning points" are the solution for a few major rivers such as the St Lawrence River -Great Lakes system. The word thalweg is of 19th-century German origin. The German word Thalweg (modern spelling Talweg )

133-492: The Glacier Express panoramic train. 46°05′N 7°48′E  /  46.083°N 7.800°E  / 46.083; 7.800 Talweg In geography , hydrography , and fluvial geomorphology , a thalweg or talweg ( / ˈ t ɑː l v ɛ ɡ / ) is the line or curve of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse . Its vertical position in maps is the nadir (greatest depth, sounding ) in

152-856: The Mattmarksee , an artificial lake located near its source, and notably collect the waters from the Fee Glacier (through the Feeru Vispa), near Saas-Fee . The Vispa proper, forming the Vispertal (German: Visp valley), constitutes the shortest section. It is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and flows from Stalden, at an elevation of about 720 metres (2,360 ft) to the Rhône at Visp and near Baltschieder , at an elevation of about 640 metres (2,100 ft). 46°18′07″N 7°52′12″E  /  46.302°N 7.870°E  / 46.302; 7.870 This Valais location article

171-437: The stream profile . Under international law , a thalweg is instead taken to be the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway which is the default legal presumption for the boundary between entities such as states . Thalwegs can have local proprietorial and administrative significance because their formerly somewhat shifting position, reliant on renewed soundings, now more fixed as described internationally,

190-400: The talweg and the summits on both side reaches over 3 km. The total length of the valley is about 40 km. Zermatt (1,600 m), with approx. 5,600 inhabitants, is the largest and highest town in the valley. St. Niklaus follows with 2,400 inhabitants. Between them are located the smaller villages of Täsch and Randa . The villages of Grächen , Embd and Törbel are located above

209-407: The thalweg doctrine or the rule of thalweg ) is the legal principle that if the boundary between two political entities is stated to be a waterway without further description ( e.g. , a median line, right bank, eastern shore, low-tide line, etc.), the boundary follows the thalweg of that watercourse. A thalweg is the center of the principal navigable channel of the waterway (which is presumed to be

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228-676: The Riedbach, near St. Niklaus . The Matter Vispa (and Vispa) is closely followed by the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn , a railway connecting Zermatt to Visp. The Saaser Vispa is second-longest affluent of the Vispa. It is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, from Monte Moro Pass to Stalden. It comprehends only a few short affluents, the largest being the Furggbach, converging near Saas-Almagell . The Saaser Vispa flows through

247-404: The deepest part). If there are multiple navigable channels in a river, the one principally used for downstream travel (likely having the strongest current) is used. The definition has been used in specific descriptions as well. The Treaty of Versailles , for example, specifies that "In the case of boundaries which are defined by a [navigable] waterway" the boundary is to follow "the median line of

266-595: The high summits south of Zermatt ( Monte Rosa , Matterhorn ) on the border with Italy . The upper side is glaciated, the second largest glacier of the Alps , the Gorner Glacier lies at the foot of Monte Rosa (4,634 m), while the Zmutt Glacier lies at the foot of the Matterhorn (4,478 m). Around the village of Randa are located the Weisshorn (4,505 m) and the Dom (4,545 m). The difference of height between

285-676: The principal channel of navigation." The precise drawing of river boundaries has been important on countless occasions. Notable examples include the Shatt al-Arab between Iraq and Iran , the Danube in central Europe ( Croatia–Serbia border dispute ), the Kasikili/Sedudu Island dispute between Namibia and Botswana (settled by the International Court of Justice in 1999), and the 2004 dispute settlement under

304-574: The running water source intact. Placement of boulders along a thalweg and the creation of instream sills makes drying up rarer and less severe during late summer, and abates cases of severe sediment erosion and deposit in the spring and fall months when the flow rates are high, particularly if those rates have increased. Such partial infilling of a thalweg was prototyped in Meacham Creek in Umatilla, Oregon . The thalweg principle (also known as

323-425: The thalweg is a line drawn to join the lowest points along the length of a stream bed or valley in its downward slope, defining its deepest channel. The thalweg thus marks the natural direction (the profile) of a watercourse. The term is sometimes used to refer to a subterranean stream that percolates under the surface and in the same general direction as the surface stream. Slowing stream-bed erosion by bouldering

342-656: The valley, which is surrounded by many four-thousanders, including the Matterhorn . Located in the Pennine Alps , the Matter Valley is drained by the Matter Vispa , a tributary of the Rhone . The valley itself ends at Stalden where it meets the Saas Valley . The resulting Visp Valley continues for a few kilometres until it reaches the town of Visp on the young river Rhone. The valley starts between

361-412: The valley. Stalden , located at the end of the valley, is the lowest village (800 m). Since the end of the nineteenth century the upper end of the valley is connected by rail from Visp ( Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn ). If the main road connect Zermatt from Visp, it cannot be used between Täsch and Zermatt, the latter being completely car-free. Since 1930 the valley is directly connected to St. Moritz by

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