Europe’s droughts are affecting tourism

Subject : Environment

Section: Places in news

Concept :

Much of Europe is experiencing persistent drought. From Italy to Spain, holiday makers face restrictions as a result.
Sever tourist attractions like Lake Garda in Italy, North of the Alps in Switzerland and Germany, Rhine River, Font Magica fountain spectacle in Barcelona, island of Mallorca in spain are facing severe crisis.

Lake Garda

It is the largest lake in Italy.
It is known for its crystal-clear water.
The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Brescia (to the south-west), Verona (south-east) and Trentino (north).
Lake Garda has been reduced to its lowest level ever recorded in decades.
Reason- River Po, Italy’s longest reiver, have dried up due to scarcity of rainfall in northern Italy.
To compensate, authorities allowed more water from Lake Garda to flow out to local rivers. This resulted in drying of the lake.

About Alps:

The Alps emerged during the Alpine orogeny (mountain-building event), an event that began about 65 million years ago as the Mesozoic Era was drawing to a close.
Alps are young fold mountains with rugged relief and high conical peaks.
They are the most prominent of western Europe’s physiographic regions. Some 750 miles long and more than 125 miles wide at their broadest point between Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and Verona, Italy, the Alps cover more than 80,000 square miles.
The Alps extend north from the subtropical Mediterranean coast near Nice, France, to Lake Geneva before trending east-northeast to Vienna, Austria.
There they touch the Danube River and meld with the adjacent plain.
Because of their arc like shape, the Alps separate the marine west-coast climates of Europe from the Mediterranean areas of France, Italy, and the Balkan region.
Countries Covered:
The Alps form part of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania.
Only Switzerland and Austria can be considered true Alpine countries.

Important Peaks:

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps and in Europe, reaching a lofty 4,804 meters above sea level.
It is located in the Graian Alps and lies within France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Monte Rosa is a massif (a compact group of mountains) consisting of several peaks.
The highest peak in this range (Dufourspitze) has an elevation of 4,634 meters, claiming the title of Switzerland’s highest peak.
Dom, which is located near Monte Rosa, Dom stands at 4,545 meters and is known as one of the “easier” tall peaks in the Alps to summit because of it’s straightforward routes.
Other major peaks are Liskamm, Weisshorn, Matterhorn, Dent Blanche, Grand Combin etc.

Belaric Islands, Spain

The Balearic Islands is an archipelago located in the Mediterranean Sea that forms an autonomous community and province of Spain.
The archipelago is composed of four major islands, Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera, as well as smaller islands and inlets.
Mallorca or Majorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Rhine River

The Rhine River has a length of about 1,230 km and originates from the southeastern part of the Swiss Alps in the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland.
The river then flows northwards through the large Rhine Valley and forms the international boundary between Switzerland and Liechtenstein and later the boundary between Switzerland and Austria.
In Austria, the river flows into Lake Constance. The river then flows westwards out of the lake as High Rhine and forms Switzerland’s northeastern border with Germany.
The river then falls over 22 m and is then known as the Rhine Falls.
In the city of Basel in Switzerland, the river turns in the northward direction and is referred to as the Upper Rhine.
This part of the river forms the boundary between Germany and France.
Then, the Rhine flows into the Netherlands where it is divided into three branches (Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt).
The river then finally empties into the North Sea.
Some of the notable tributaries of the Rhine River include Aare, Tamina, Moselle, Erft, Rein da Tuma, Plessur, Rotach, and Wiese.
The principal cities that are located along the Rhine River include Düsseldorf, Basel, Rotterdam, Cologne, and Strasbourg.