Nicolas Lamouroux

Chapter 7 – The Rhône River Basin

Publisher Summary nThe Rhone links several valleys and rivers from the upper Alps with the Mediterranean Sea. The Alps provided a strong economic and cultural unity to the Rhone throughout the last 1,000 years. Today, the Rhone River is a highly regulated river, viewed as a large waterway for commerce. It is a major source of nutrients and particulate matter to the Mediterranean Sea and a major factor in sole fishery yields from the Gulf of Lyons. The public and politicians are increasingly aware of environmental problems and sociologists indicate a new interest toward integrating river environments in everyday life, so called “river re-appropriation by riverine people”. Recent floods also show that the Rhone, although regulated, can still overflow its banks and pose a risk hazard. Energy production, navigation, irrigation, tourism, habitat and biodiversity protection and cultural activities all must be taken into account by river managers and local decision-makers. The complex uses of the river have also caused new initiatives between Switzerland and France. This chapter presents the general physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the Rhone River. All tributaries on the Swiss side are alpine rivers and have been used for water storage and hydroelectricity. Several tributaries from the French side play an important role in the Rhone discharge and are included in the chapter, the rivers Ain, Saone and Durance in particular. The Isere River also is an important tributary but it was historically affected by regulation, channelization, and industrialization. Lake Leman is an important feature of the river and its effects on the river downstream also are discussed in the chapter.