Saar (Rhine)


The Saar is a minor tributary of the Alpine Rhine in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen.
It rises in Mittelsäss, Bad Ragaz municipality, at 2,087 m elevation.
Flowing generally north, it passes the Saarfall waterfall, dropping from 560 m to 500 m, reaching the plain of the Rhine Valley. From here, it is strongly canalised, flowing through the territories of the Vilters-Wangs, Mels and Sargans municipalities before joining the Rhine downstream of Trübbach at 480 m.
Its named tributaries are Kleine Saar, Vadanabach Saschielbach , Silbergiessen, Chrummgiessen and
Kaltgiessen.
The Saar was first canalised between 1855-1862. Its confluence with the Rhine was moved 700 metres downstream, to the mouth of the Trübbach. Its lower course was widened in 1899-1908. Its mouth was again moved downstream by 2.5 km after a flood in 1954.