Inn (river) - Geography

Geography

The source is located in the Swiss Alps, west of St. Moritz in the Engadin region, which is named after the river (Romansh Engiadina: "garden of the Inn"). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course, Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana. It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and from Landeck eastwards through the Austrian state of Tyrol and its capital, Innsbruck (bridge over the Inn), and crosses the border into Bavaria near Kufstein.

On Bavarian territory the river runs northwards and passes the cities of Rosenheim, Wasserburg am Inn, and Waldkraiburg; then it turns east, runs through Mühldorf and Neuötting and is enlarged by two major tributaries, the Alz and the Salzach.

From here to the Danube, it forms the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Upper Austria). Cities on this last section of the river are Simbach on Inn, Braunau am Inn and Schärding.

In the city of Passau the Inn finally enters the Danube (as does the Ilz river there). Although the Inn has a greater average flow than the Danube when they converge in Passau, and its watershed contains the Piz Bernina also the highest point in the Danube watershed, the Inn is considered a tributary of the Danube, which has a greater length, drains a larger surface area, and has a more consistent flow.

Among the many small towns on the river are Braunau am Inn in Austria, birthplace of Adolf Hitler; and Marktl am Inn in Bavaria, Germany, birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI. The Inn is also the only river originating in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).