Name of site
River Thur (1730 km2), NE Switzerland, and RECORD research site at Neunforn (http://www.cces.ethz.ch/projects/nature/Record)
Location
The River Thur is located in NE Switzerland, draining the front ranges of the Swiss NE Limestone Alps (south of the Bodensee basin). It is a tributary of the R. Rhine which flows into the North Sea.
Geology
The Thur catchment is a mainly Limestone dominated alpine headwater, whereas the pre-alpine lowlands are dominated by ‘Molasse’-Sandstones and Pleistocene unconsolidated sediments.
It is a primarily rural catchment with agricultural activity focussing on the lowlands and scattered settlements. St. Gallen (72,000 inhabitants) and Frauenfeld (23,000 inhabitants) are the largest towns in the Thur catchment.