Headwaters
From the headwaters of a creek or river is when the source of the water body can not locate clear or if - z. B. with appropriate geological subsoil - extends over a larger area.
This is often the case in high alpine valleys such as the Engadin (upper reaches of the Inn ). Sometimes an entire region is referred to as the source area - for example, Graubünden for the front and rear Rhine .
While such headwaters - often caused by water-retaining sediments under a permeable surface - usually have a rather two-dimensional extent, the headwaters of many karst springs can be clearly described as three-dimensional .
Numerous examples can be found in the Karst of the Balkan Peninsula , in Slovenia , but also in the Limestone Alps . The Upper Austrian Dead Mountains have underground headwaters that are dozens of square kilometers in size before the river they feed finally emerges. At the Pießling-Ursprung , one of the strongest karst springs in Austria near Spital am Pyhrn , the water-rich stream only flows into the Teichl after 7–8 km and later into the Steyr River .
Other extensive headwaters can be moorlands , which then often - such as z. B. Schwenninger Moos , headwaters of the Neckar - are declared protected areas . Larger areas in which the supply of drinking water can not fall back on narrowly localized sources are often also worthy of protection .
See also: catchment area
