Aare
The Aare (German pronunciation: [ˈaːrə]) or Aar is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.
Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about 295 km (183 miles), during which distance it descends 1,565 m (5,135 ft), draining an area of 17,779 km2 (6,865 sq mi), almost entirely within Switzerland, and accounting for close to half the area of the country, including all of Central Switzerland.
There are more than 40 hydroelectric plants along the course of the Aare River.
The river's name dates to at least the La Tène period, and it is attested as Nantaror "Aare valley" in the Berne zinc tablet which dates back to Roman Gaul.
The name was Latinized as Arula/Arola/Araris
Course
The Aare rises in the great Aargletschers (Aare Glaciers) of the Bernese Alps, in the canton of Bern and west of the Grimsel Pass. The Unteraargletscher (Lower Aare-Glacier) is the main source of the water, for the source Lake Grimsel, along with the Finsteraargletscher, Oberaargletscher (Upper Aare-Glacier), and Lauteraargletscher. It runs east to the Grimsel Hospice, below the Finsteraarhorn, and then northwest through the Haslital, forming on the way the magnificent Handegg Waterfall, 46 m (151 ft), past Guttannen. Between Innertkirchen and Meiringen, the river carves through a limestone ridge in the Aare Gorge or Aareschlucht. It is here that the Aare proves itself to be more than just a river, as it attracts thousands of tourists annually to the causeways through the gorge.
