San Bernardino (torrent)

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San Bernardino
Fiumesanbernardino.jpg
San Bernardino creek near Rovegro, VB
San bernardino location map.jpg
Location of the stream within NE Piedmont
Location
Country Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont, Italy
Physical characteristics
Source 
 - location Val Grande
 - elevation2,301 m (7,549 ft)
Mouth  
 - location
Lago Maggiore at Verbania
 - elevation
194 m (636 ft)
Basin size132.35 km2 (51.10 sq mi) [1]

The San Bernardino is a torrent which flows through the Italian Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and into Lake Maggiore at Verbania on the Piedmontese (western) shore of the lake.

Italy republic in Southern Europe

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.

Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province of Italy

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara. The area flanking the western shore of Verbano forms the eastern part of the province; Cusio and its environs form the southern part; while the north and west of the province consists of the Ossola, a region of Alpine mountains and valleys. The ISO code for the province is VB.

Lake Maggiore lake in Italy and Switzerland

Lake Maggiore or Lago Verbàno is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino. Located halfway between Lake Orta and Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore extends for about 65 kilometres between Locarno and Arona.

Contents

The origins of its name lie with the Franciscan convent of San Bernardino which was established in 1483 near the mouth of the river, between Intra and Pallanza. The buildings are no longer extant.

Pallanza frazione of the Italian commune of Verbania

Pallanza is a district of the Italian comune (municipality) of Verbania. It is located in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.

Course

The torrent is formed by the confluence of two smaller streams, the Rio Valgrande and the Rio Pogallo, at Ponte Casletto in Val Grande. Its drainage basin comprises the areas of Val Grande and Val Pogallo; its course, and its tributaries are characterised by deep ravines and gorges.

Drainage basin Area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet

A drainage basin is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. The drainage basin includes all the surface water from rain runoff, snowmelt, and nearby streams that run downslope towards the shared outlet, as well as the groundwater underneath the earth's surface. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at lower elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins, which in turn drain into another common outlet.

The San Bernardino passes through the communes of San Bernardino Verbano (which takes its name from the river), Cossogno and finally Verbania, where it separates the population centres of Pallanza and Intra and falls into Lake Maggiore.

San Bernardino Verbano Comune in Piedmont, Italy

San Bernardino Verbano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of Turin and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of Verbania.

Cossogno Comune in Piedmont, Italy

Cossogno is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) northeast of Turin and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Verbania.

Verbania Comune in Piedmont, Italy

Verbania is the most populous comune (municipality) and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about 91 km (57 mi) north-west of Milan and about 40 km (25 mi) from Locarno in Switzerland. It had a population of 30,827 at 1 January 2017.

Industrial exploitation

Until the early 1900s the Val Grande and Val Pogallo were an important source of timber and the river was used to transport the trees felled by means of log rolling.

The San Bernardino provided a source of hydropower for the factories which were built along its course and its water was employed in the bleaching processes of the adjacent textile factories. In 1892 Carlo Sutermeister, an industrialist of Swiss origins, constructed the first Italian hydroelectric power station capable of distributing electrical power ; it supplied the inhabitants of Intra, Pallanza and other places in the area as well as the factories nearby. Subsequently the power plant of Rovegro was built and today there a three power stations in use on the river.

Hydropower energy derived from falling or running water

Hydropower or water power is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower from many kinds of watermills has been used as a renewable energy source for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as gristmills, sawmills, textile mills, trip hammers, dock cranes, domestic lifts, and ore mills. A trompe, which produces compressed air from falling water, is sometimes used to power other machinery at a distance.

Textile industry economic sector

The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.

Karl Konrad "Carlo" Sutermeister was a Swiss engineer and timber businessman, and co-founder of the Banco Popolare di Intra. In 1890 he constructed Italy's first hydropower plant with AC transmission in Cossogno.

Recreational uses

Kayaking can be enjoyed in certain tracts of this Alpine torrent and, despite the chilly water, swimming is a popular pastime, especially at the locality Santino. Fishing is allowed, although only for brown trout ( Salmo trutta ), and only outside the protected reserves which form part of the national park.

Footnotes

  1. Valsesia, Teresio (1985), Val Grande, ultimo paradiso, Verbania: Alberti Editore, ISBN   88-7245-004-7

Notes

This article originated as a translation of this version of its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia .


Coordinates: 45°55′51″N8°34′25″E / 45.9308°N 8.57361°E / 45.9308; 8.57361

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