Rhein, Vbg#

Rhine ("Alpenrhein"), River, Vorarlberg, formed by the confluence of Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein rivers near Reichenau in the Swiss canton of Graubuenden (Grisons); main tributary of Constance, Lake. Short section of the river on Austrian territory, from Bangs (431 m) to Lake Constance. In 1900 and 1923, the course of the Rhine, which still defines the Swiss-Austrian border, was changed as a result of river regulation: rectification of the bend at Dipoldsau and of the river mouth; construction of the Koblach and Lustenau canal and the Landgraben canal. Previously, the Rhine Valley had been affected by frequent flooding. Approximately 1,000 hectares of land have been reclaimed through the construction of an 8-kilometre-long dam and lake in the delta. In Vorarlberg, pollution of the Rhine is only moderate (level 2); at the Lustenau measurement point the average flow rate of the Rhine is 233 m3/Sek. The fertile Rhine Valley, up to 10 kilometres wide with remnants of former marshlands, extends between Bregenz (398 m) in the north and Feldkirch (458 m) in the south. The tectogenic Rhine Valley was formed by the ice stream of the Pleistocene Rhine glacier. After the ice had melted, gravel and sand deposits formed the broad, flat-floored valley. A few remaining elevations are the Ardetzenberg Mountain in Feldkirch (631 m), the Kummaberg Mountain near Koblach (667 m) and the Sonderberg Mountain near Altach (461 m). Between Goetzis and Lake Constance the Rhine Valley is called Unterland. Grassland and dairy farming account for 90 % of agriculture in the Rhine Valley; also horticulture, fruit-growing and some wine-growing. Some settlements have over 1,000 inhabitants per km2 and are thus among the most populous areas in Austria. The Rhine Valley autobahn (A 14) runs from Bregenz to the Walgau Valley via Feldkirch, with the railway line running almost parallel to the autobahn (rail junction of Feldkirch, one line heading towards Liechtenstein and the Walgau Valley, the other going up to Bregenz and on into Germany).

Literature#