Adige

 

(ä'dējā) , second longest river of Italy, c.225 mi (360 km) long, rising in the Tyrolean Alps, N Italy. It flows generally south, past Bolzano, Trent, and Verona, to the Po valley where it turns east to empty into the Adriatic Sea. The Adige is used for irrigation and hydroelectric-power production. Flood-control works protect the valley from sudden floods.

Adige
Origin	Lake Resia, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Mouth	Adriatic Sea
Basin countries	Italy
Length	410 km
Source elevation	1,550
Basin area	12,100 km²

The Adige (Italian: Adige; Venetian: Àdexe; Trentin: Ades; Friulian: Adis; German: Etsch; Ladin: Adesc, or Adiç; Latin: Athesis) is a river with its source in the Alpine region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At 410 km in length, 220 located in the province of Bolzano, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the Po River with 652 km.

The river flows out of the artificial Alpine Lake Resia, located at the Resia Pass (1504 m) close to the borders with Austria and Switzerland above the Inn valley. The lake is known for the church tower that marks the site of the former village of Curon Antica (Alt Graun) that was abandoned and flooded in 1953 when the dam was finished. Near Glurns, the Rom River from the Swiss Val Müstair joins.

The Adige then runs eastbound through the Vinschgau (Venosta Valley) to Merano where it is met by the Passirio river from the north. South of Bolzano, the Isarco joins the river that is now heading south through a valley that always has been one of the major routes through the Alps, leading to and from the Resia Pass and the Brenner Pass, at 1370 m considered the easiest of the main Alpine passes.

The Salurner Klause/Chiusa di Salorno narrows at Salorno marks the southern-most part of the German-speaking area. Thus, the Adige was mentioned in the Lied der Deutschen of 1841 as the southern border of the German language area of the time. This song was made the national anthem of Germany in 1922, after Italy took control of all of the Adige.

Near Trento, the Avisio, Noce, and Fersina rivers join. The Adige then crosses Trentino and later Veneto, flowing past the city of Verona and the towns of Rovereto and Adria through the Lagarina valley and the north-eastern part of the Po plain into the Adriatic sea. Both the Adige and the Po run parallel in the river delta without properly joining.

As a river in the mountains, it is subject to sudden swellings and overflows. It is also connected through artificial underground canals to Lake Garda for flood prevention.

External links

• Encyclopædia Britannica

Coordinates: 46°50′N, 10°30′Ebar:Etschnds-nl:Adige

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