The following is a list of rivers of Switzerland (and tributaries thereof). Included rivers flow either entirely or partly through Switzerland or along its international borders. Swiss rivers belong to five drainage basins, i.e. of the Rhine, the Rhône, the Po, the Danube or the Adige. Of these, only the Rhine and Rhône flow through Switzerland (and also originate there). The waters therefore drain into either the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea or the Black Sea.
Below, rivers are grouped by length, drainage area, orography and in alphabetical order. A list of border rivers is also given.
Rivers with over 100km (100miles) in Switzerland
Rank | River | Length (km) | Length (mi) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 375disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
2 | Aare (or Aar) | 295disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |
3 | 264disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
4 | 158disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
5 | Linth and Limmat together | 140disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |
6 | 135disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
7 | 128disp=tableNaNdisp=table |
Basins covering more than 1000km2, counting only the area in Switzerland.
Rank | River | Length | Drainage area | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
km | mi | km2 | sq mi | ||
1 | 375disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 36494disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
2 | Aare (or Aar) | 295disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 17779disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
3 | 264disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 10403disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
4 | 158disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 3425disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
5 | Orbe and Thielle together | 118disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 2672disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
6 | Linth and Limmat together | 140disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 2416disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
7 | 104disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 2150disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
8 | 128disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1892disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
9 | 135disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1696disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
10 | Hinterrhein (Posterior Rhine) | 57.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1693disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
11 | 91disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1616disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
12 | Vorderrhein (Anterior Rhine) | 67.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1514disp=tableNaNdisp=table | ||
13 | 74disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1310disp=tableNaNdisp=table | |||
14 | 44disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 1126disp=tableNaNdisp=table |
See also: Hydrology of Switzerland.
Switzerland is drained into four directions:
Witenwasserenstock mountain is the triple divide of the drainage basins between the Rhine, Rhône and Po. Lunghin Pass is the triple divide between the Rhine, Danube and Po.
Rivers that flow into other rivers are sorted by the proximity of their points of confluence to the sea (the lower in the list, the more upstream). Some rivers (e.g. Danube) do not flow through Switzerland themselves, but they are mentioned for having Swiss tributaries. They are given in italics. The five drainage basins are highlighted in bold.