The Möll (; presumably from , "rubble") is a river in northwestern

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, a left

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is .

Course

The river rises in the

High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salz ...

range of the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia. South of them is ...

on the Pasterze Glacier at the foot of the

Grossglockner The Großglockner ( ), or just Glockner, is, at 3,798 metres above the Adriatic (12,461 ft), the highest mountain in Austria and highest mountain in the Alps east of the Brenner Pass. It is part of the larger Glockner Group of the Hohe Ta ...

, the highest mountain in Austria. It discharges after flowing for a little over near Möllbrücke into the Drava. At the beginning of its course, at the southeastern end of the Pasterze Glacier, it is impounded to form the Margaritze Reservoir, from where part of the water is diverted via pressure tunnels across the Alpine crest and Mt. Wiesbachhorn to the reservoirs of the

Verbund Verbund AG, formerly known as Verbundgesellschaft or Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG, is Austria's largest electricity provider. Verbund covers around 40 percent of electricity demands in Austria and generates 90 percent thereof fro ...

hydroelectric power plant in Kaprun,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. The Möll then runs down to Heiligenblut, parallel to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, and further southwards, separating the mountains of the Schober Group in the west from the Goldberg Group in the east. In the municipality of Winklern, near the border with

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

(

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...

) at

Iselsberg Pass The Iselsberg Pass, at , is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps between the States of Austria, states of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It separates the mountains of the Kreuzeck group in the south from the Schober ...

, it turns eastwards, running through the broad lower part of the Möll Valley () along the northern rim of the Kreuzeck Group. Downstream near Stall, the Möll waters are again impounded into the Gößnitz Reservoir. At

Obervellach Obervellach is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau District, Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is situated in the valley of the Möll river, on the southern slope of the High Tauern moun ...

the river course is joined by the parallel Tauern Railway line descending from Mallnitz and the southern Tauern Tunnel portal. Near Kolbnitz and its confluence with the Drava, the Möll is once again dammed up to create the Rottau equalizing basin. From here some of the water is diverted to the lower stage of the Malta-Reisseck Power Plant in Möllbrücke. The Möll is a popular

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

white water river and one of the preferred

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

rivers in Carinthia.

Gallery

File:Goessnitzer stausee.jpg, Gößnitz Reservoir File:Moell Penk seen from Zwenberg.jpg, Möll near Penk, seen from the Zwenberg File: Rafting Moell.jpg, Rafting near Napplach File:Reservoir rottau.jpg, Rottau equalizing basin. Right: the Oberwasser channel, that leads to Möll Valley Power Station. Left: the natural river bed though which only a fraction of the water flows. File:Malta Unterstufe and Drau.jpg, Möll Valley Power Station. The water now empties into the Drau before the actual mouth of the Möll (left).

References

External links

Hydrographic service in Carinthia - online survey data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moll Rivers of Carinthia Rivers of Austria