Dornbirner Ach

Dornbirner Ach
Dornbirner Ach
	Dornbirner Ach in the Rappenloch Gorge
Location
Country	Austria
State	Vorarlberg
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Vorarlberg
• coordinates	47°18′26″N 9°46′04″E / 47.307357°N 9.767816°E
• elevation	1485 m
Mouth
• location	Lake Constance
• coordinates	47°29′55″N 9°40′31″E / 47.4985°N 9.6754°E
• elevation	385 m
Length	29.9 km
Basin size	223 km2
Basin features
Progression	Rhine→ North Sea

The Dornbirner Ach (also called Dornbirner Ache) is a 29.9 km (18.6 mi) long stream in Vorarlberg, Austria, and a tributary of Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the Rhine, respectively. It flows through two gorges in its upper part, the Alploch Gorge and the Rappenloch Gorge.

Course

The river's source is located in the mountains near the alpine village of Ebnit [als] (Dornbirn). Downstream, the river flows through one of the largest and most gorgeous gorges in Central Europe, the Alplochschlucht [ceb; de; sv] (English: Alploch Gorge) and Rappenlochschlucht [ceb; de; sv] (English: Rappenloch Gorge), which are separated by a small reservoir lake (Staufensee). Further downstream, the river cuts through the town of Dornbirn and then meanders off over a broad meadow landscape, the Lauterach Ried [de] in the Alpine Rhine Valley, finally flowing into Upper Lake Constance.

The mouth of the river was originally near Fussach, but since the straightening of the Alpine Rhine, it flows parallel and quite close to the latter into Lake Constance near Hard.^[1] Its mouth lies west of the Bregenzer Ach.

Some of its tributaries are the Kugelbach, Bruderbach, Spätenbach, Gunzenach/Kobelach and Schwarzach.

Gallery

Alploch Gorge
Staufensee
Rappenloch Gorge
Dornbirn
Bridge near the river's mouth

References

^ Ölz, Bernhard (1987). Revitalisierung der Dornbirner Ache und damit zusammenhängende stadtplanerisch begleitende Maßnahmen. Wien: Univ. für Bodenkultur (diploma thesis).