← Water knowledge

River atlas

Water pathways, regulation and monitoring locations: understand why readings on the same river vary between reaches.

Aare
Lakes and their regulation shape the Aare's flow. Tributaries including the Zulg and Gürbe join between Thun and Bern. A reading at Lake Thun's outlet therefore does not describe the full discharge in Bern. Check tributary locations and timestamps when comparing stations.
Read background →
Arve
The Arve brings snow- and glacier-melt water to Geneva, joining the Rhône without passing through Lake Geneva. When comparing Geneva readings, locate the Rhône station relative to the Jonction: only stations downstream include the Arve's contribution.
Read background →
Broye
The Broye enters Lake Morat at Salavaux, where its delta has been restored. A station above the lake measures river inflow, not lake level. Do not confuse it with the Broye Canal, which connects Lakes Morat and Neuchâtel.
Read background →
Broye-Kanal
The Broye Canal links Lakes Morat and Neuchâtel. During floods, water can flow back from Neuchâtel towards Morat. Direction therefore matters alongside discharge: interpret positive and negative signs using the data provider's convention, not an assumed direction.
Read background →
Glatt
Glatt is an ambiguous name: Zurich's Glatt leaves Greifensee, but there is also a Glatt station at Herisau. The Greifensee outlet weir influences water release. Check the municipality and map position before assigning a Glatt curve to a particular reach.
Read background →
Kander
The Kander has entered Lake Thun since its diversion in 1714. Below its confluence with the Simme, the Kander already carries the Simme's water. Adding both readings without checking station locations can therefore double-count the same inflow.
Read background →
Limmat
Lake Zurich is regulated at the Platzspitz weir; the Sihl joins the Limmat there. Readings before and after that confluence therefore represent different amounts of water. Downstream of the city, the Sihl matters alongside the lake's outflow.
Read background →
Rheintaler Binnenkanal
The Rheintaler Binnenkanal collects side streams and drainage water from the valley plain, reaching Lake Constance through the Old Rhine. It is not the neighbouring Alpine Rhine. Compare it with its own record: a small discharge relative to the Rhine says nothing about local flood risk.
Read background →
Rhone
In Geneva, Lake Geneva and its regulation shape the Rhône's flow. The Arve joins at the Jonction. Curves at the lake outlet and at Chancy therefore describe different reaches. Repeated daily fluctuations are not in themselves evidence of daily rainfall.
Read background →
Saane
Saane and Sarine name the same river. Fribourg canton also documents deliberate water releases at Rossens dam. A discharge peak therefore need not come solely from rain. Explaining a particular peak requires an operational or event notice; the measurement alone does not identify its cause.
Read background →
Sense
In its lower course, the Sense receives the Schwarzwasser and joins the Saane at Laupen. A station below this confluence represents a different catchment from one above it. For a riverside visit, choose the relevant reach rather than any reading carrying the river's name.
Read background →
Simme
The Simme reaches Lake Thun through the Kander, not directly. Its reading describes part of the later lake inflow. Check whether stations sit before or after the confluence: water passes them at different times and does not represent two independent inflows.
Read background →
Töss
Between Fischenthal and Turbenthal, Töss water can seep through its permeable bed and continue underground. A dry reach does not mean the whole river is dry. Check the station and source notes before treating a very low reading as a failure or a river-wide condition.
Read background →

More rivers and their monitoring locations