The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, after the Po. It rises near the

Reschen Pass Reschen Pass (german: Reschenpass, ; it, Passo di Resia ) is a mountain pass across the main chain of the Alps, connecting the Upper Inn Valley in the northwest with the Vinschgau region in the southeast. Since 1919, the border between South Tyro ...

in the

Vinschgau The Vinschgau, Vintschgau () or Vinschgau Valley ( it, Val Venosta ; rm, Vnuost ; lld, Val Venuesta; medieval toponym: ''Finsgowe'') is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of South Tyrol, Italy. ...

in the province of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, near the Italian border with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and flows through most of northeastern Italy to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. The river's name is Celtic in origin, from the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...

cel-x-proto, *yt-ese, label=none, "the water", cognate with the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...

in England (anciently ''Athesis'', ''Teesa'').

Description

The river source is near the

() close to the borders with Austria and Switzerland above the

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

valley. It flows through the artificial alpine Lake Reschen. The lake is known for the church tower that marks the site of the former village of Alt Graun ("Old Graun"); it was evacuated and flooded in 1953 after the dam was finished. Near

Glurns Glurns (; it, Glorenza ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 876 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: I ...

, the

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

river joins from the Swiss

Val Müstair Val Müstair (german: Münstertal) is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It was formed on 1 January 2009 through the merger of Tschierv, Fuldera, Lü, Valchava, Santa Maria Val Mü ...

. The Adige runs eastward through the

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

, where it is met by the

Passer ''Passer'' is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds with thick bills for ...

river from the north. The section between Merano and

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

is called

Etschtal The Etschtal, it, Val d'Adige or Valle dell'Adige, italic=no, is the name given to that part of alpine valley of the Adige in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, which stretches from Merano to Bolzano and from Salorno to Rovereto. South of Rovereto, ...

, meaning Adige Valley. South of Bolzano, the river is joined by the

Eisack The Eisack (german: Eisack, ; it, Isarco ; Latin: ''Isarus'' or ''Isarcus'') is a river in Northern Italy, the second largest river in South Tyrol. Its source is near the Brenner Pass, at an altitude of about 1990 m above sea level. The river draw ...

and turns south through a valley which has always been one of the major routes through the Alps, connecting the Reschen and the Brenner passes, at considered the easiest of the main Alpine passes. The ''Chiusa di Salorno'' narrows at

Salorno Salorno sulla Strada del Vino (; german: Salurn ) is the southernmost ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about southwest of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking municipalities in S ...

mark the southernmost part of the predominantly German-speaking province of South Tyrol. The Adige was mentioned in the " Lied der Deutschen" of 1841 as the southern border of the German

language area A sprachbund (, lit. "language federation"), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The lang ...

. As of 2011 62% of Salorno speaks Italian and 37% speaks German. In 1922 Germany adopted the song as its national anthem, although by that time Italy had taken control of all of the Adige. Near

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, the

Avisio The Avisio is an Italian stream (a '' torrente''), a left tributary of the Adige, whose course is in Trentino. It rises from Marmolada and runs through the Fascia Valley, the Fiemme Valley and the Cembra Valley before joining the Adige in the ...

, Noce, and Fersina rivers join. The Adige crosses

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

and later

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, flowing past the town of

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier ...

, the Lagarina Valley, the cities of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

and

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

and the north-eastern part of the Po Plain into the

. The Adige and the Po run parallel in the

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...

without properly joining. The Adige is connected to

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

by the

Mori-Torbole tunnel The Mori–Torbole Tunnel ( Italian: ''Galleria Adige–Garda'') is a diversion tunnel completed in 1959 between the Italian towns of Mori and Nago-Torbole to connect the Adige river with Lake Garda. Its function is to reduce water levels in th ...

, an artificial underground canal built for flood prevention.

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Adige (from source to mouth): *Left:

Karlinbach The Karlinbach ( it, Rio Carlino) is a stream in South Tyrol, Italy, that it is sourced from the Weißkugel mountain in the Ötztal Alps mountain range. It flows in the Lake Reschen, near the village of Graun im Vinschgau Graun im Vinschgau ( ...

, Punibach,

Schnalser Bach The Schnalser Bach ( it, Rio Senales) is a stream located in South Tyrol, Italy. It flows into the Adige near Naturns. References Civic Network of South Tyrol
(in German) Rivers of Italy Rivers of South Tyrol {{Italy-river-stub ...

, Fersina, Leno, Alpone *Right: Rambach, Suldenbach,

Plima The Plima ( it, Rio Plima; german: Plima) is a stream in South Tyrol, Italy. It flows into the Adige near Latsch Latsch (; it, Laces ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of ...

, Falschauer, Noce

Ecology

Fauna

The Adige is a home to the

marble trout ''Salmo marmoratus'', the marble trout, is a species of freshwater fish in the family Salmonidae. It is characterized by a distinctive marbled color pattern and high growth capacity. The marble trout is found in only a handful of drainages and ...

(''Salmo marmoratus''), but at far lower populations than in the past. Fish stocking is one of the most significant causes of the sharp reduction in the original (indigenous) fish population of this subspecies. It will spawn with and interbreed with

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

, which are regularly stocked in the river and its tributaries.Karel Kova
"Hydrology, Water Resources and Ecology in Headwaters".
p. 505

Gallery

File:Sorgente Adige vera.jpg, The true source of Adige inside a

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...

of the

Alpine Wall The Alpine Wall (''Vallo Alpino'') was an Italian system of fortifications along the of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced Franc ...

File:Sorgente Adige falsa.JPG, The false source File:Reschensee.jpg, Graun, the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

in the

Reschensee Reschensee (; ; Italian: ''Lago di Resia'' ) or Lake Reschen is an artificial lake in the western portion of South Tyrol, Italy, approximately south of the Reschen Pass, which forms the border with Austria, and east of the mountain ridge forming ...

. File:Tussen Laas en Cavelano, die Etsch foto1 2012-08-12 15.57.jpg, The Adige between Laas and Göflan in the Vinschgau. File:AdigeinVallagarina.jpg, The Adige flowing through Lagarina Valley. File:Adige canyon.jpg, Adige canyon at Chiusa. File:Adige Verona 2010.JPG, The Adige flowing through

. File:Adige flowing through Verona.jpg, The Adige flowing through Verona, as seen from the

Castelvecchio Bridge The Castel Vecchio Bridge (Italian: ''Ponte di Castel Vecchio'') or Scaliger Bridge (Italian: ''Ponte Scaligero'') is a fortified bridge in Verona, northern Italy, over the Adige River. The segmental arch bridge featured the world's largest spa ...

. File:Verona_Adige.jpg, The Adige flowing through Verona. File:VeronaPonteRomanoDaCastSanPietro.jpg, The Adige flowing through Verona seen from Castel San Pietro. File:Verona01.jpg, Adige river and Ponte Pietra in Verona. Foce dell'Adige a Rosolina Mare.jpg, The mouth of the Adige at

Rosolina Rosolina ( vec, Roxołina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about south of Venice and about east of Rovigo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,303 and an area of .All de ...

Mare

References

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica
* {{Authority control Rivers of South Tyrol Rivers of the Province of Rovigo Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Venice Rivers of the Province of Verona Rivers of Trentino Rivers of the Province of Padua Rivers of the Alps Rivers of Italy