The Vispa is a river in the canton of Valais, located in the Visp area. It is essentially composed of two large branches: the Matter Vispa and the Saaser Vispa, converging at

Stalden Stalden () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies at the foot of the Mischabelhörner and Dom (). History Stalden is first mentioned in 1213 as ''Morgi''. In 1224 it was mentioned as ''Staldun ...

, then forming the Vispa proper, flowing for less than before converging with the Rhône at Visp. The Vispa is a left and major affluent of the Rhône, before it enters Lake Geneva. 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 ). 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 the Pennine Alps. Both valleys have mountains over above sea level, the highest being Monte Rosa, the

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

and the Weisshorn, and include numerous glaciers, large and small. As a result, the river is characterized by a glacial regime, similarly to the

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

, another nearby affluent of the Rhône. The Matter Vispa is the longest of the two branches. It is over 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 the Riedbach, near

St. Niklaus :''See Saint Nicholas (disambiguation) for disambiguation.'' St. Niklaus (french: Saint-Nicolas) is a village and a municipality in the Mattertal, part of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History St. Niklaus is first ...

. 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 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 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 long and flows from Stalden, at an elevation of about to the Rhône at Visp and near Baltschieder, at an elevation of about .

References

*Th
Vispa
on the National Map of Switzerland

External links

* Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of Valais Tributaries of the Rhône {{Switzerland-river-stub