Inn (river)

Inn
Map highlighting the Inn
Other name	Romansh: En
Origin	Swiss Alps (Lägh dal Lunghin)
Mouth	Danube (Passau)
Basin countries	Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany
Location	St. Moritz, Scuol, Landeck, Innsbruck, Wörgl, Kufstein, Rosenheim, Wasserburg am Inn, Mühldorf am Inn, Braunau am Inn, Schärding, Passau
Length	517 km (321 mi)
Source elevation	2,484 m (8,150 ft)
Mouth elevation	291 m (955 ft)
Avg. discharge	730 m3/s (26,000 cu ft/s)
Basin area	25,700 km2 (9,900 sq mi)

The Inn (Latin: Aenus; Romansh: En) is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is 517 kilometres (321 mi) long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres (13,284 ft). The Engadine, the valley of the En, is the only Swiss valley from which its waters ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).

Geography

The source is located in the Swiss Alps, west of St. Moritz in the Engadine region, which is named after the river (Romansh Engiadina; Latin vallis Eniatina). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course, Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana. It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and from Landeck eastwards through the Austrian state of Tyrol and its capital, Innsbruck (bridge over the Inn), and crosses the border into Bavaria near Kufstein.

On Bavarian territory the river runs northwards and passes Rosenheim, Wasserburg am Inn, and Waldkraiburg; then it turns east, runs through Mühldorf and Neuötting and is enlarged by two major tributaries, the Alz and the Salzach.

From here to the Danube, it forms the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Upper Austria). Towns on this last section of the river are Simbach on Inn, Braunau am Inn and Schärding. There are numerous small towns, including Braunau am Inn in Austria, and Marktl am Inn in Bavaria, Germany.

In Passau the Inn finally enters the Danube (as does the Ilz river there). Although the Inn has a greater average flow than the Danube when they converge in Passau, and its watershed contains the Piz Bernina also the highest point in the Danube watershed, the Inn is considered a tributary of the Danube, which has a greater length, drains a larger surface area, and has a more consistent flow. The Inn is the only river originating in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).

Tributaries

View of the Inn valley. In the right half of the picture is the entrance to the Ziller valley.

• Right tributaries (in downstream order): Flaz, Spöl, Clemgia, Faggenbach, Pitzbach, Ötztaler Ache, Melach, Sill, Ziller, Alpbach, Wildschönauer Ache, Brixentaler Ache, Weißache, Kaiserbach, Rohrdorfer Ache, Sims, Murn, Alz, Salzach, Enknach, Mattig, Ach, Antiesen, Pram

• Left tributaries (in downstream order): Beverin, Schergenbach, Sanna, Gurglbach, Brandenberger Ache, Kieferbach, Auerbach, Kirchbach, Mangfall, Attel, Isen, Rott

Gallery

• 

  Bridge over the Inn at Silvaplana, Upper Engadine (CH)

• 

  The Inn in Scuol, Lower Engadine (CH)

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  between Stein and Pfunds in the Inn Valley (A)

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  between Aussengufer and Fliess in the Inn Valley (A)

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  between Nesselgarten and Prutz in the Inn Valley (A)

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  near Landeck (A)

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  The Inn running through the Tyrol west of Innsbruck (A)

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  The Inn in Innsbruck (A)

• 

  Rotholz, bridge across the Inn

External links

• Inn (district and river) in Romansh, German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.