Schwarzach

The Schwarzach is a mountain river in East Tyrol that rises high in the Deferegg valley beneath the Schwarzachkees glacier at 2,480 metres. It cuts through narrow ravines and broad gravel flats, gathering meltwater from peaks such as the Rötspitze and Daberspitze before dropping 1,680 metres to meet the Isel at Huben. Over its 42-kilometre course it collects thirty-four tributaries across a catchment of 321 square kilometres. Early in the 11th century the river was already named in a charter of Emperor Henry III confirming rights to the Bishop of Brixen. The upper valley shows classic alpine geology, with crystalline schists giving way to metamorphic limestones of the Matreier zone and later to granitic intrusions near Bruggen. Downstream, wide gravel terraces alternate with deep gorges like the Deferegger Klamm, where the water carves through soft sandstones. Visitors walk paths beside the river that change with every bend. In the upper reaches larch and Swiss stone-pine forests clothe the slopes while alpine meadows appear where the valley widens. Near St Jakob broad former lake beds hold wet meadows and scattered grey alder woods. Below Hopfgarten the river spreads into wide gravel bars before plunging into the shady Deferegger Klamm, a final stretch of rushing water and steep rock walls.