Along the High Rhine and Aare from Albbruck to Waldshut

Rivers and floodplains shape the varied landscape in the canton of Aargau, at whose northern border we hike through the "Land am Wasser" (= Alemannic for Aare-Gau). Over 70% of the total water volume of Switzerland flows through Aargau. The Auenschutzpark Aargau, created in 1997, aims to renature the still existing remnants of the formerly large floodplain landscapes along the Aare and Rhine. In the FFH protected area of Rheininsel, the "Kiesenbacher Felsen" impress: the potholes (glacier mills) were formed by river erosion during the ice age. They are only visible at low water levels of the High Rhine.

The High Rhine also serves ecological power generation. The Albbruck-Dogern hydroelectric plant (RADAG), built between 1930 and 1933, supplies electricity partly to the Rhine-bordering countries Germany and Switzerland. The Leibstadt nuclear power plant, known for its water vapor cloud dominating the landscape, also uses the High Rhine to cool its boiling water reactor.