The Cervo (
Piedmontese ''Sar'' or ''Serv'') is a
torrent
Torrent or torrents may refer to:
* A fast flowing stream
Animals
* Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae
* Torrent fish
* Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs
* Torrent robin, a bird species
* Torrent salamander, a family of sala ...
(a form of seasonally intermittent stream) in the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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, demographics_type1 =
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region of north-west
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 ...
. It is the principal tributary of the river
Sesia
The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po.
Geography
Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia an ...
, which itself is a significant tributary of the
Po.
Etymology
The name ''Cervo'' rather than from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''cervus'' (''
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
'') should come from the
Germanic ''saar'' (''stream'' or ''river'').
Geography
It crosses the provinces of
Biella (
communes of
Piedicavallo,
Rosazza
Rosazza is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 89 and an area of .All demograp ...
,
Campiglia Cervo
Campiglia Cervo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 176 and an area of .All demog ...
,
Sagliano Micca
Sagliano Micca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Biella.
Sagliano Micca borders the following municipalities: Andorno Micca, Biella, Font ...
,
Andorno Micca
Andorno Micca ( pms, Andorn) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella.
Overview
It is located in the Valle Cervo, at the feet of the B ...
,
Tollegno
Tollegno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,678 and an area of .All demographic ...
,
Biella,
Candelo and
Castelletto Cervo
Castelletto Cervo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southeast of Biella.
Castelletto Cervo borders the municipalities of Buronzo, Gifflenga, Less ...
) and
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
(
Quinto Vercellese
Quinto Vercellese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 438 and an area of .All ...
).
The Cervo’s source is the
Lago della Vecchia
Lago della Vecchia is a lake in the Biellese Prealps, Prealps of the Province of Biella in the Piedmont region of Italy. At an elevation of 1865 m, its surface area is 0.06448 km². References
Lakes of Piedmont
Province of Biella
Biell ...
(close to the ''
Rifugio
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization de ...
della Vecchia'') in the
Biellese Prealps. From the
Lago della Vecchia
Lago della Vecchia is a lake in the Biellese Prealps, Prealps of the Province of Biella in the Piedmont region of Italy. At an elevation of 1865 m, its surface area is 0.06448 km². References
Lakes of Piedmont
Province of Biella
Biell ...
it flows rapidly through a large number of communes of the
Valle del Cervo
Cervo Valley (in Italian ''Valle Cervo'' or ''Valle di Andorno'', in Piedmontese ''Val d'Andorn'' or ''Bürsch'') is a valley in north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Biella, Italy.
Etymology
The valley takes its name from Cervo, a right-ha ...
. Close to
Tollegno
Tollegno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Biella. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,678 and an area of .All demographic ...
it receives the torrent Oropa from the right then crosses the eastern part of the city of
Biella, in particular the quarter of Chiavazza.
From here the valley widens and the torrent flows more slowly along a broad and pebbly stream bed. In this section of its course the Cervo is united with a number of modest tributaries: the Mologna, the Chiebbia, the Lu Rialet and the Bruma. Near the town of
Cossato the flow grows visibly when the torrent is joined from the left by the
Strona di Mosso
The Strona di Mosso ( pms, Stron-a ëd Mòss) is a long creek in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.
Etymology
The name ''Strona'' should come from ''storn'' or ''strom'', celtic language, celtic Root (linguistics), roots for ''flowing waters ...
. Near
Castelletto Cervo
Castelletto Cervo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southeast of Biella.
Castelletto Cervo borders the municipalities of Buronzo, Gifflenga, Less ...
it receives the waters of the
Ostola
The Ostola is a 25 km long stream () in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy. It's a left side tributary of the Cervo which flows through the Province of Biella.
Geography
The Ostola source is on the southern slopes of Monte Capopo ...
and enters the plain of the
province of Vercelli
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
.
In the Vercellese plain, where the
Canale Cavour Canale may refer to:
Places
;Italy
* Canale, Piedmont, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cuneo
* Canale, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, a ''frazione'' in the Province of Trento
* Canale d'Agordo, a ''comune'' in the Province of Belluno, Veneto
* Can ...
crosses over the torrent, the Cervo is significantly enriched by the contribution of numerous minor water courses and canals. In the area of
Collobiano
Collobiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli.
Collobiano borders the following municipalities: Albano Vercellese, Casanova ...
it is joined by more important torrents: the
Rovasenda and
Marchiazza
The Marchiazza is a 34 km long stream () of Piedmont, in north-western Italy. It is a left side tributary of the Cervo which flows through the provinces of Biella and Vercelli.
Geography
The Marchiazza is formed in the eastern and hilly ...
from the left and from the right the
Elvo
The Elvo (Piedmontese: ''Elv'') is a torrent (an intermittent stream) in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy and is the principal tributary of the Cervo. It runs through the communes of Sordevolo, Occhieppo Superiore, Occhieppo Inferiore, C ...
, its most important tributary.
At this point the Cervo turns from a torrent into a river which can be expected to flow continuously throughout the year. It advances lazily towards the
Sesia
The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po.
Geography
Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia an ...
which it joins near
Quinto Vercellese
Quinto Vercellese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 438 and an area of .All ...
as its most important tributary.
Main tributaries
Left hand:
*
Strona di Mosso
The Strona di Mosso ( pms, Stron-a ëd Mòss) is a long creek in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.
Etymology
The name ''Strona'' should come from ''storn'' or ''strom'', celtic language, celtic Root (linguistics), roots for ''flowing waters ...
;
*
Ostola
The Ostola is a 25 km long stream () in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy. It's a left side tributary of the Cervo which flows through the Province of Biella.
Geography
The Ostola source is on the southern slopes of Monte Capopo ...
;
*
Guarabione;
*
Rovasenda;
*
Marchiazza
The Marchiazza is a 34 km long stream () of Piedmont, in north-western Italy. It is a left side tributary of the Cervo which flows through the provinces of Biella and Vercelli.
Geography
The Marchiazza is formed in the eastern and hilly ...
.
Right hand:
*
Oropa
Oropa is a ''frazione'' of the municipality of Biella, in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for the Black Virgin of Oropa. Her statue is located in the Sanctuary of Oropa, the basilica of the Sacro Monte di Oropa, one of the Sacri Monti. It ...
;
*
Elvo
The Elvo (Piedmontese: ''Elv'') is a torrent (an intermittent stream) in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy and is the principal tributary of the Cervo. It runs through the communes of Sordevolo, Occhieppo Superiore, Occhieppo Inferiore, C ...
.
[CTR (''Carta Tecnica Regionale'') 1:10.000, Regione Piemonte, Settore Cartografico and Settore Sistema Informativo Territoriale, 2007 ]raster
Raster may refer to:
* Raster graphics, graphical techniques using arrays of pixel values
* Raster graphics editor, a computer program
* Raster scan, the pattern of image readout, transmission, storage, and reconstruction in television and compu ...
version
Regime
Despite the Cervo’s generous mean
discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
of about
[''Piano di tutela delle acque'' (AI 18 - Cervo); Regione Piemonte - Direzione Pianificazione delle Risorse Idriche - 200]
(on-line in pdf)
at its confluence with the
Sesia
The Sesia (Latin ''Sesites'' or ''Sessites'') is a river in Piedmont, north-western Italy, tributary to the Po.
Geography
Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia an ...
, its regime is sharply torrential. The highest rates of flow occur with the melting of the prealpine snows in the late spring, and above all with the autumn rains. The latter can lead to such disastrous floods as occurred in 1968 and 2002. In the summer, however, the discharge is much diminished and significant tracts may dry up completely as a result of the heavy exploitation of its water.
Angling and water quality
The Cervo is classified as a “Category A” water course in the upper Valle Cervo from its source to Biella; here
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
s are present. Beyond Biella and in the Vercellese plain members of the
carp family are found and it falls into “Category B”.
Notes and references
:''The initial version of this article was a translation o
this versionof the article
:it:Cervo (torrente) in the
Italian Wikipedia.''
Other projects
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Province of Biella
Rivers of the Province of Vercelli
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of the Alps