Water

The Vals valley owes it wildness and dense diversity to the forces of water. Over millions of years ice and rain have carved the deep gorge of the mountain valley. The Vals valley is rich in streams, mountain lakes, springs, and waterfalls.

In early times Vals was plagued by frequent inundations. After the great flood of 1868, the community considered moving every last man, woman, and child to America. Only financial assistance from the canton government ultimately convinced the people of Vals to abandon their plan. Today, water in various forms brings work and income to the valley.

With a temperature of 30 °C, the thermal spring in Vals is the only one to surface in the entire canton of Grisons. Enriched with 1,870 mg/l of minerals, the water here contains the following substances: sodium 10, calcium 425, magnesium 51, fluoride 0.7, hydrogen carbonate 376, sulfate 964, chloride 2.8 mg/l.

In the fifties, the Kraftwerke Zervreila AG impounded the Valserrhein to generate electricity. Now, at the mouth of the valley floor of Zervreila stands an arch gravity dam with a 500-meter-long crest that reaches a height of 150 m at its tallest point.