The Breitach is a mountain river, the southwestern (left) source of the

Iller The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, long. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Breitach, Stillach and Trettach near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu ...

in the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps (german: Allgäuer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance. Character ...

, in the states of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

(

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

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Detail

The

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

originates in , a part of

Mittelberg Mittelberg is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the Kleinwalsertal,in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is accessible by road only from Germany. Geography The town of Mittelberg lies in the Kleinwalsertal, a valley that is access ...

, in the

Kleinwalsertal Kleinwalsertal is a valley in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg and part of the Bregenz district. It includes the municipality of Mittelberg and consists of three villages along the River Breitach. Due to the geographic location in the Allgä ...

as the union of three smaller source streams. It flows in the northwestern direction through the valley that in earlier times was called ("Breitach Valley") after the river. At the , the Austrian-German border, the Breitach reaches German territory and curves through the narrow

Breitachklamm The Breitachklamm is a gorge created by the river Breitach in the Allgäu region in Southern Germany. It is located at the exit of the Kleinwalsertal near Tiefenbach, a city district of Oberstdorf. It is one of the deepest gorges of the Bavar ...

. Then, the Starzlach flows from the west into the Breitach. At the so-called ("Iller origin") in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

, the Breitach, the

Stillach Stillach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. At its confluence with the Breitach and the Trettach in Oberstdorf, the Iller is formed. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach * Abens * Ach * Afferbac ...

and the

Trettach Trettach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. At its confluence with the Breitach and the Stillach in Oberstdorf, the Iller is formed. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach * Abens * Ach * Afferbach ...

flow together forming the Iller. Of geological interest are the so-called ''Breitach rocks''; a mineral of brown color and of small fracture, it is only found in the Breitach.

References

Sources

Breitach-Flussbeschreibung für Kanusportler

Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Vorarlberg Rivers of Austria Rivers of Germany International rivers of Europe {{Bavaria-river-stub