Editing Alps (section)

== Rivers and lakes ==
{{main|List of valleys of the Alps}}
[[File:St.Bartholomä.jpg|thumb|left|The [[St. Bartholomew's Church, Berchtesgaden|St. Bartholomew's chapel]] on the [[Königssee]] in Bavaria is a popular tourist destination.<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 31</ref>]]

The Alps provide lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.<ref>Chatré, Baptiste, et al. (2010), 5</ref> Although the area is only about 11% of the surface area of Europe, the Alps provide up to 90% of water to lowland Europe, particularly to arid areas and during the summer months. Cities such as Milan depend on 80% of water from Alpine runoff.<ref name = "Chatré9"/><ref name="Benniston et al. 2011, 1">Benniston et al. (2011), 1</ref><ref>Price, Martin. ''Mountains: Globally Important Eco-systems''. University of Oxford</ref> Water from the rivers is used in at least 550 [[hydroelectricity]] power plants, considering only those producing at least 10MW of electricity.<ref>Alpine Convention (2010), 8</ref>

Major European rivers flow from the Alps, such as the [[Rhine]], the [[Rhône]], the [[Ticino (river)|Ticino]]->[[Po (river)|Po]], and the [[Inn (river)|Inn]]->[[Danube]], all of which have headwaters in the Alps and flow into neighbouring countries, finally emptying into the [[North Sea]], the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the [[Black Sea]]. Other rivers such as the Danube have major tributaries flowing into them that originate in the Alps.<ref name = "Chatré9"/>

The Rhône is second to the [[Nile]] as a freshwater source to the Mediterranean Sea; the river begins as glacial meltwater, flows into [[Lake Geneva]], and from there to France where one of its uses is to cool nuclear power plants.<ref name="Benniston et al. 2011, 3">Benniston et al. (2011), 3</ref> The Rhine originates in a {{convert|30|km2|abbr=on|adj=on}} area in Switzerland and represents almost 60% of water exported from the country.<ref name="Benniston et al. 2011, 3"/> Tributary valleys, some of which are complicated, channel water to the main valleys which can experience flooding during the snowmelt season when rapid runoff causes debris torrents and swollen rivers.<ref name="Ceben 1998, 31">Ceben (1998), 31</ref>

The rivers form lakes, such as Lake Geneva, a crescent-shaped lake crossing the Swiss border with Lausanne on the Swiss side and the town of [[Evian-les-Bains]] on the French side. In Germany, the medieval [[St. Bartholomew's Church, Berchtesgaden|St. Bartholomew's chapel]] was built on the south side of the [[Königssee]], accessible only by boat or by climbing over the abutting peaks.<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 24, 31</ref>

[[File:Altstadt von Malcesine-2.jpg|thumb|[[Italian Lakes|Southern pre-alpine lakes]] like [[Lake Garda]] are characterised by warmer [[microclimate]]s than the surrounding areas.]]
Additionally, the Alps have led to the creation of large lakes in Italy. For instance, the [[Sarca]], the [[Inflow (hydrology)|primary inflow]] of [[Lake Garda]], originates in the Italian Alps.<ref name="EnBrit">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Garda |title=Lake Garda |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828142322/https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Garda |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Italian Lakes]] are a popular tourist destination since the Roman Era for their mild climate.

Scientists have been studying the [[effects of climate change|impact of climate change]] and water use. For example, each year more water is diverted from rivers for [[snowmaking]] in the ski resorts, the effect of which is yet unknown. Furthermore, the steady decrease of glaciated areas for about 150 years—vastly accelerated during the last 30-50 years—combined with a increasingly succession of winters with lower-than-expected precipitation (snow) due to much warmer winters will have a non-negligible future impact on the water storage in the Alps, namely glacier, and consequently on rivers in the Alps as well as an effect on the water availability to the lowlands of many European countries.<ref name="Benniston et al. 2011, 1"/><ref>Chatré, Baptiste, et al. (2010), 13</ref>