Val Medel
Encyclopedia
The Val Medel is a righthand side valley of the Surselva valley in Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...

, Switzerland. It is approximately 15 km long and stretches from Disentis  to the south, where it ends at Lai da Sontga Maria
Lai da Sontga Maria
Lai da Sontga Maria is a lake near the Lukmanier Pass in the municipality of Medel , Grisons, Switzerland. The reservoir has a surface area is 1.77 km². The arch dam Santa Maria was completed in 1968....

 reservoir on Lukmanier Pass
Lukmanier Pass
Lukmanier Pass is a pass in the Swiss Alps.The road from Disentis/Mustér in the canton of Graubünden leads through the Val Medel across the pass to the Blenio valley and Biasca in the canton of Ticino.The Pass is kept opened during the winter.-See also:* List of highest paved roads in Europe*...

 . There is a road through the valley and over Lukmanier Pass into Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...

.

In the lower three kilometers of the valley form a narrow gorge, known as theMedelserschluch or Las Ruinas, which widens to the green and fertile Trog valley at the village of Curaglia.

Settlements

The only municipality in the valley is Medel
Medel (Lucmagn)
Medel is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Medel has an area, , of . Of this area, 17.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 14.9% is forested...

, which encompasses the numerous villages, hamlets and isolated settlements on both sides of the valley. The largest and most northerly village is Curaglia. Other settlements are (from north to south) Mutschnengia, Platta, Pardes, and Fuorns Acla. The whole municipality stretches over 136 square kilometers, of which over 90 km² is unproductive.

Language and religion

In the Val Medel, an intermediate form between the Disentis and Tujetsch
Tujetsch
-External links:*...

 dialects of the Sursilvan
Sursilvan
Sursilvan is a group of dialects of the Romansh language spoken in the Surselva, on the western bank of the Rhine. The most closely related variety is Sutsilvan, which is spoken in the area located to the east.- Example :...

 language is spoken. The vast majority of the population is Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

.

Waters

The river Froda flow thought the uppermost portion of the valley. It begins in the Lai da Sontga Maria reservoir. At the hamlet of Pardatsch (1559 m), the Froda merges with the Rein da Cristallina (which emerges from the Val Cristallina), to form the Rein da Medel
Rein da Medel
The Rein da Medel is the longest headwater of the Rhine. It is located in the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Graubünden and flows trough the valleys Val Cadlimo and Val Medel. Rein da Medel is the local Sursilvan, The Rein da Medel is the longest headwater of the Rhine. It is located in the Swiss...

, which flows into the Anterior Rhine at Disentis. Many small tributaries flow into Rein da Medel from both sides.

Side Valleys

At Curaglia the Val Plattas branches off to the south east. Near Pardatsch, the Val Cristallina branchess off, also to the south east.

External links

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