Ötztaler Ache

Ötztaler Ache
Data
Water code	AT : 2-8-92
location	Ötztal , Imst district, Tyrol , Austria Ötztaler / Stubai Alps
River system	Danube
Drain over	Inn  → Danube  → Black Sea
origin	Confluence of the Venter Ache and Gurgler Ache at Zwieselstein 46 ° 56 ′ 19 ″  N , 11 ° 1 ′ 34 ″  E
Source height	1452  m above sea level A.
muzzle	at Ötztal-Bahnhof in the Inn Coordinates: 47 ° 13 ′ 56 ″  N , 10 ° 50 ′ 18 ″  E 47 ° 13 ′ 56 ″  N , 10 ° 50 ′ 18 ″  E
Mouth height	676  m above sea level A.
Height difference	776 m
Bottom slope	18 ‰
length	42 km
Catchment area	894 km²
Discharge at the Brunau A Eo gauge: 836.7 km² Location: 2.05 km above the mouth	NNQ (02/19/1992) MNQ 1991–2009 MQ 1991–2009 Mq 1991–2009 MHQ 1991–2009 HHQ (09/20/1999)	2.24 m³ / s 4.21 m³ / s 31.3 m³ / s 37.4 l / (s km²) 238 m³ / s 417 m³ / s
Left tributaries	Rettenbach, Pollesbach, Lehnbach, Leiersbach, Tumpenbach
Right tributaries	Windache, Fischbach , Horlachbach , Nederbach
Communities	Sölden , Längenfeld , Umhausen , Oetz , Sautens , Haiming , Roppen
Residents in the catchment area	13,800
The Ötztaler Ache near Sautens

Confluence of the Gurgler Ache and Venter Ache near Zwieselstein

The Ötztaler Ache near Köfels

Axle falls at the Wellerbrücke (municipality of Oetz)

The Ötztaler Ache is a right tributary of the Inn and main body of water of the Tyrolean Ötztal with a length of around 42 km. After the Ziller, it is the most water-rich feeder in Tyrol and, as a whole, separates the Ötztal Alps in the west from the Stubai Alps in the east.

Surname

The Ötztaler Ache was first mentioned in 1259 as fluvius dictus Ez ('river called Ez'). In hunting book Emperor Maxilimilans 1500 it is used as the water genant the Oh referred to in Atlas Tyrolensis of Peter Anich (1774) as Oezthaler Bach and Johann Jakob Staffler in the 19th century as ötztaler ache .

Location, landscape and course

The Ötztaler Ache is created near Zwieselstein by the confluence of the Venter Ache and Gurgler Ache and flows in a northerly direction through the Ötztal. The river flows into the Inn between the Haiming district of Ötztal-Bahnhof and Roppen . Its length from Zwieselstein to the mouth is 42 km. The Venter Ache and Rofenache are often viewed as the upper reaches of the Ötztaler Ache, which is 66.5 km long and has a difference in altitude of over 1800 m.

The Ötztal has several valley steps that were created by landslides. The Ache dug a way through the debris and formed steep stretches with rapids, the so-called Achs falls . The most important are south of Oetz between Tumpen and Habichen.

Main tributaries

Source rivers

• The Gurgler Ache (length approx. 16 km) rises from the Gurgler Ferner and flows through the Gurgler Valley , a well-known ski area (main town Obergurgl ).
• The Venter Ache (length approx. 13 km) comes from the core area of ​​the Ötztal Alps from the Hinteren Schwärze and the Weißkugel . It is considered one of the most valuable wild rivers in Tyrol. The white water is popular with paddlers and rafters.

Right tributaries

• The Windache flows out of the Windach valley south of Sölden .
• At Längenfeld the Fischbach flows from the Sulztal into the Ache. It causes mudslides and floods again and again .
• In Umhausen the Horlachbach flows through the Horlachtal and the Niederthai district and falls over the well-known 150 m high Stuibenfall into the Ötztal. The Horlachbach also feeds the distant Längental reservoir of the Sellrain-Silz power plant group in Kühtai.
• The Nederbach or Stuibenbach from the Nedertal near Kühtai flows north of Oetz . Shortly before the valley level, it breaks through a rocky gorge with the Stuibenfall (not to be confused with the much larger one near Umhausen).

Left tributaries

• In Sölden the Rettenbach flows into the district of the same name from the Rettenbachtal and is u. a. fed by the Rettenbachferner .
• South of Huben in the municipality of Längenfeld , the Pollesbach flows out of a wild, inaccessible rock gorge.
• The Lehnbach also flows into the community in the district of Lehn from the Innerbergalm with the 110 m high Lehner waterfall, which is well worth seeing.
• The Leiersbach flows north of Umhausen and flows through a ravine-like, wooded valley.
• The Tumpenbach in the district of Tumpen has several waterfalls worth seeing shortly before its mouth .

Catchment area and water supply

The Ache has a catchment area of 894 km², which makes up the eastern edge and core area of ​​the Ötztal Alps and the entire western part of the Stubai Alps , with an average height of around 2500  m . 20% of the catchment area is over 2900  m , the highest point is the Wildspitze at 3768  m above sea level. A. 512 km² (57%) of the catchment area are covered with vegetation, of which 130 km² (15%) are forest, 381 km² (43%) are free of vegetation. In the catchment area of ​​the Ötztaler Ache there are 171 glaciers with a total area of ​​114.9 km², which makes up 13% of the catchment area. Since 1850 this area has decreased by around 95 km² due to the glacier retreat.

Characteristic for the influence of the glaciers is the noticeable increase in runoff only in late spring (May / June) with a short and concentrated runoff activity in midsummer and a sharp decrease in water flow in the beginning of autumn. The mean discharge at the Brunau gauge, 2 km above the mouth, is 31.3 m³ / s, which corresponds to a discharge rate of 37.5 l / s · km². In the month of July with the most water, the mean discharge at the Brunau gauge is more than seventeen times that of the poorest month of February, and almost twenty times that at the Tumpen gauge.

Average monthly discharge of the Ötztaler Ache (in m³ / s) at the Brunau gauge,
survey period 1991–2009, source:

The water-rich and stormy Ötztaler Ache, over which more than 40  bridges lead, has often devastated the valley, which made complex building measures necessary. There have been extreme flood events in the past, particularly when the Rofener or Gurgler ice lakes erupt .

ecology

The Ötztaler Ache is one of the few hydrologically unaffected mountain rivers in Tyrol. According to the valley steps of the Ötztal, fast and slow flowing sections alternate. The bank areas are formed by steep walls, agricultural areas, spruce forests and gallery forests of alder and willows . The water quality is in the upper course with water quality class classified in the lower reaches with I-II II.

The water flow, which fluctuates strongly over the course of the year, and the low water temperature (on average in the warmest months below 9 ° C) require a specially adapted fauna, including algae ( golden algae , blue-green algae ), insects ( stone flies , mayflies , caddis flies ) and fish. The brown trout has the largest share of the fish population (more than 90%) ; grayling and cops can also be found in the area where the river flows into the Inn . In addition to rainbow trout and brook trout used.

Sports

Rafting on the Ötztaler Ache

The Ötztaler Ache and its tributaries offer various opportunities for sporting activities, such as rafting , canoeing , canyoning or fishing . The Ache is considered to be demanding whitewater , the level of difficulty ranges from III in the open sections to VI in the cataract sections.

Web links

Commons : Ötztaler Ache  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Water level, water temperature and flow of the Ötztaler Ache at the Huben gauge (Hydrographic Service Tyrol)
• Water level, water temperature and flow of the Ötztaler Ache at the Tumpen gauge (Hydrographic Service Tyrol)
• Water level and flow of the Ötztaler Ache at the Brunau gauge (Hydrographic Service Tyrol)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} TIRIS - Tyrolean spatial information system
2. ↑ Land Tirol: Hydrographic characteristics
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (ed.): Hydrographisches Jahrbuch von Österreich 2009. 117th volume. Vienna 2011, p. OG 97, PDF (12.1 MB) on bmlrt.gv.at (yearbook 2009)
4. ↑ Otto Stolz: History of the waters of Tyrol. Schlern writings, Volume 32, Innsbruck 1932, p. 34 ( digitized version )
5. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Gattermayr: The hydrographic regime of the Ötztaler Ache. In: Eva-Maria Koch, Brigitta Verschbamer (Ed.): Climate, Weather, Glaciers in Transition. Alpine Research Center Obergurgl, Volume 3, Innsbruck University Press, Innsbruck 2013, ISBN 978-3-902811-89-9 , pp. 121–155. ( PDF; 3.7 MB )
6. ↑ ^{a b} Gernot Patzelt: The Ötztal - Topographical Identification. In: Eva Maria Koch, Brigitta Verschbamer (eds.): Glacial and periglacial habitats in the Obergurgl area , Alpine Research Center Obergurgl - Volume 1, Innsbruck University Press, Innsbruck 2010, ISBN 978-3-902719-50-8 , p. 9– 11 ( PDF; 1.5 MB )
7. ↑ ^{a b} Daniel Erhart: The living world of the Ötztaler Ache . In: Eva-Maria Koch, Brigitta Verschbamer (Ed.): Climate, Weather, Glaciers in Transition. Alpine Research Center Obergurgl, Volume 3, Innsbruck University Press, Innsbruck 2013, ISBN 978-3-902811-89-9 , pp. 157-163. ( PDF; 1.3 MB )
8. ↑ Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (ed.): Saprobiological water quality of the flowing waters of Austria. As of 2005. ( PDF; 1 MB ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) 
9. ↑ Bernie Mauracher, Olaf Obsommer: Ötztal Kayak Guide ( memento of the original from October 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.5 MB)