Ticino (river)

The river Ticino ( tih-CHEE-noh, Italian: [tiˈtʃiːno]; Lombard: Tesin; French and German: Tessin; Latin: Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four major rivers taking their source in the Gotthard region, along with the Rhône, Reuss and Rhine. The river rises in the Val Bedretto in Switzerland at the frontier between the cantons of Valais and Ticino right below the Nufenen Pass, is fed by the glaciers of the Alps and later flows through Lake Maggiore, which traverses the border to Italy. The Ticino joins the Po a few kilometres downstream (along the Ticino) from Pavia. It is about 248 kilometres (154 mi) long. The stretch of river between Lake Maggiore and the confluence with the Po is included in the Parco naturale lombardo della Valle del Ticino, a Nature reserve included by UNESCO in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.