Rhône
Rhône is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. Grande Dixence Dam stands on the Dixence, in this river's basin, and is written up below. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Dams Recorded
- 1
- Coordinates
- 45.70°, 5.71°
About Rhône
The Rhône ( ROHN, French: [ʁon] ; Occitan: Ròse; Arpitan: Rôno) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion). At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (French: le Grand Rhône; Occitan: Grand Ròse) and the Little Rhône (le Petit Rhône; Pichon Ròse). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region.
The river's source is the Rhône Glacier, at the eastern edge of the Swiss canton of Valais. The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif, which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss, Rhine and Ticino.
The Rhône is, with the Po and the Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Rhône (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rhône in Depth
Course
The Rhône begins as the meltwater of the Rhône Glacier in Valais, in the Swiss Alps, at an altitude of approximately 2,208 metres (7,244 ft). From there it flows southwest through Gletsch and the Goms, the uppermost valley region of the Valais before Brig. In the Brig area, it receives the waters of the Massa from the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier of the Alps, and shortly after, it receives the waters of the Vispa, the longest affluent in Valais. After that, it flows onward through the valley which bears its name and runs initially in a westerly direction about thirty kilometers to Leuk, then southwest about fifty kilometers to Martigny.
Down as far as Brig, the Rhône is a torrent; it then becomes a great mountain river running southwest through a glacial valley.
History
The Rhône has been an important highway since the times of the Greeks and Romans. It was the main trade route from the Mediterranean to east-central Gaul. As such, it helped convey Greek cultural influences to the western Hallstatt and the later La Tène cultures. Celtic tribes living near the Rhône included the Seduni, Sequani, Segobriges, Allobroges, Segusiavi, Helvetii, Vocontii and Volcae Arecomici.
Navigation was difficult, as the river suffered from fierce currents, shallows, floods in spring and early summer when the ice was melting, and droughts in late summer. Until the 19th century, passengers travelled in coches d'eau (water coaches) drawn by men or horses, or under sail.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Rhône (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rhône: Key Facts
| Length | 812 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 1,780 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 98,000 km² |
| Source | Rhone Glacier |
| Mouth | Mediterranean Sea |
| Drainage system | Rhône basin |
| Tributaries | Printze, Eyrieux, Saône, Isère, Ain, Trient, Gardon, Salanfe |
Facts from Wikidata Q602 (CC0).
Grande Dixence Dam
Grande Dixence Dam
Concrete Gravity dam · Valais, Switzerland
Grande Dixence Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Dixence, in the Rhône basin, in Valais, Switzerland, standing 285 m (935 ft) high and completed in 1965. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 2,069 MW. The structure impounds Lac des Dix.
The Grande Dixence Dam (French pronunciation: [gʁãd diksãs]) is a concrete gravity dam on the Dixence at the head of the Val d'Hérémence in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At 285 m (935 ft) high, it is the tallest gravity dam in the world, seventh tallest dam overall, and the tallest dam in Europe. It is part of the Cleuson-Dixence Complex. With the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation, the dam fuels four power stations, totaling the installed capacity to 2,069 MW, generating approximately 2,000 GWh annually, enough to power 400,000 Swiss households.
The dam withholds the Lac des Dix ('Lake of the Ten'), its reservoir. With a surface area of 4 km2, it is the second largest lake in Valais and the largest lake above 2,000 m in the Alps. The reservoir receives its water from four different pumping stations; the Z’Mutt, Stafel, Ferpècle and Arolla. At peak capacity, it contains approximately 400,000,000 m3 (1.4×1010 ft3) of water, with depths reaching up to 284 m (932 ft). Construction on the dam began in 1950 and was completed in 1961, before officially commissioning in 1965.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Grande Dixence Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Concrete Gravity
- Structural height
- 285 m (935 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 2,069 MW
- Impounded river
- Dixence
- River basin
- Rhône
- Reservoir
- Lac des Dix
- Location
- Valais, Switzerland
- Year completed
- 1965
- Height rank
- #6 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #33 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 46.0806°, 7.4028°
Notable: Tallest concrete gravity dam in the world, collecting glacial melt from 35 Alpine glaciers.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Grande Dixence Dam ranks #6 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #33, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Nearest cities: Sion (18 km), Aosta (39 km), Lausanne (76 km).
More about Grande Dixence Dam
History
In 1922, Energie Ouest Suisse (EOS) became established with a few small power stations. To generate substantial amounts of electricity, EOS looked to the Valais canton which contains 56% of Switzerland's glaciers and stores the largest amount of water in Europe. In 1927, EOS acquired the license for the upper Dixence basin. In 1929, 1,200 workers constructed the first Dixence dam which would be complete in 1935. The first dam would supply water to the Chandoline Power Station which has a capacity of 120 MW.
After the Second World War, growing industries needed electricity and construction on the Cleuson Dam began in 1947 and was completed in 1951. The original Dixence dam was submerged by the filling of Lac des Dix beginning in 1957; it can still be seen when the reservoir level is low.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Grande Dixence Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Grande Dixence Dam: Key Facts
| Crest length | 700 m |
|---|---|
| Officially opened | 1961 |
Facts from Wikidata Q675009 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Rhône: Quick Answers
- Where is Rhône?
- Rhône is located in France and Switzerland, at 45.7001° N, 5.7129° E.
- Are there dams on the Rhône?
- Yes. YearMaps records one dam on the Rhône and its tributaries: Grande Dixence Dam (on the Dixence).
- How tall is Grande Dixence Dam?
- Grande Dixence Dam is 285 metres (935 ft) high and was completed in 1965.