Multi-temporal mapping of the Upper Rhone Valley (Valais, Switzerland): fluvial landscape changes at the end of the Little Ice Age (18th–19th centuries)

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location of the study area and main units: hillslope, alluvial fan areas and floodplain areas.

Table 1. Main characteristics of the Upper Rhone River Basin (Olivier et al., 2009) and the data registered at the gauging station of Sion (https://www.hydrodaten.admin.ch/en/2630.html): A – catchment area upstream of gauging station.

General characterisation of the Upper Rhone River Basin
Mean catchment elevation (m)		Catchment area (km^2)		Mean annual flow (km^3)		Mean annual precipitation (cm)		Mean air temperature (°C)
1655		8018		5.77		162.4		4.3
Flow regime (in m^3/s) of the Rhone River at Sion (1916–2003)
Data Origin	Altitude	A	MQ	SpQ	NQ	HQ	Q2	Q10	Q50
1	484	3349	112	33.4	29	910	461	639	808

Notes: MQ: arithmetic mean annual discharge; SpQ: specific discharge (m³/s/km²); NQ: lowest measured discharge; HQ: highest measured discharge (instantaneous value); Q2: magnitude of a 2-year flood; Q10: magnitude of a 10-year flood; Q50: magnitude of a 50-year flood.

Table 2. List of the historical maps considered in this study. ABS: Archives de la Bourgeoisie de Sion; AEV: Archives de l’Etat du Valais. In bold style, the maps used in the ‘backdating approach’.

Period	Historic Map	Date	Source
1780–1802	99/35 Cadastre de Champsec	Started: 1741–1746	AEV, ABS
		Updated: 1761–1772
		Last version considered in the research: 1782
	99/36 Plan géométrique de la plaine de Champsec/Sion	1782	AEV, ABS
	Napoleonic Map	1802	Bibliothèque nationale de France
1820–1845	97/9 Plan du Rhône depuis le confluent de la Liène jusqu’à Uvrier	1827	AEV, ABS
	97/10 Plan du cours du Rhône depuis le Pont jusqu’à Chandoline	1823	AEV, ABS
	97/17 Plan du Rhône entre Bramois et Uvrier	1827	AEV, ABS
	97/18 Plan du Rhône de Chandoline à Aproz	1827	AEV, ABS
	97/19 Plan du Rhône d’Uvrier à Batassé	1827	AEV, ABS
	97/20 Plan du Rhône de Wissigen au Pont du Rhône	1827	AEV, ABS
	98/5 min du plan du cours du Rhône vers la grande barrière en haut d’Aproz	1825	AEV, ABS
	97/3 Plan du Rhône depuis Praz Bardy jusqu’à la fin du territoire de Sion	1845	AEV, ABS
	97/4 Plan du Rhône depuis l’Ile de l’Evéché jusqu’à Praz Bardy	1845	AEV, ABS
1847	Dufour Map	1847	Swisstopo
1850	Plan du Chemin de fer (Railway Map)	1850s	AEV, DTP, Plans, Railways, 1
1852–1857	201/7 Plan de propriétés à Aproz	1852	AEV, ABS
	202/1 Plan du Rhône depuis le pont de Sion jusqu’à la Morge	1856	AEV, ABS
	202/11 Plan de dessèchement des marais de la plaine de Sion	1857	AEV, ABS
1859–1860	202/10 Plan de la plaine de Sion pour le dessèchement et le colmatage.	1859	AEV, ABS
	202/12 Plan d’assainissement de la plaine de Sion à Riddes. Avant-projets.	1860	AEV, ABS
> 1860	Siegfried Map (used only for the ‘backdating approach’ and not considered in the multitemporal maps)	1870–1922	Swisstopo

Table 3. Main characteristics for each period.

Period	Fluvial Pattern	Water Management	Land-use
1780–1802	Braided	Drainage Canals	Generic agricultural use and woods
1820–1845	Braided/Wandering	Dykes, Groynes	Generic agricultural use and woods
1847–1850	Braided/Wandering/Channelised	Dykes, Groynes	–
1850–1860	Wandering/Channelised	Dykes, Groynes	Generic agricultural use and woods

Figure 2. The study area as it is represented in the Napoleonic Plan (A), the Dufour Map (B) and the Railway Map (C). (Courtesy of ©Archives de l’Etat du Valais, AEV and Swisstopo).

Figure 3. ‘Plan géométrique de la plaine de Champsec/Sion’ digitalised with Agisoft Photoscan (Brandolini & Patrucco, 2019) (Courtesy of ©Archives de l’Etat du Valais, AEV, ABS 99/36). The map is oriented with South at the top of the map.

Figure 4. ‘Plan du Rhône entre Bramois et Uvrier’ digitalised with Agisoft Photoscan (Brandolini & Patrucco, 2019). (Courtesy of ©Archives de l’Etat du Valais, AEV, ABS 97/17).

Figure 5. ‘Plan de dessèchement des marais de la plaine de Sion (1857)’ digitalised with Agisoft Photoscan (Brandolini & Patrucco, 2019) (Courtesy of ©Archives de l’Etat du Valais, AEV, ABS 202/11).

Olivier, J.-M. , Dole-Olivier, M.-J. , Amoros, C. , Carrel, G. , Malard, F. , Lamouroux, N. , & Bravard, J.-P. (2009). Chapter 7 – The Rhône River Basin. In K. Tockner , U. Uehlinger , & C. T. Robinson (Eds.), Rivers of Europe (pp. 247–295). London : Academic Press.

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Brandolini, F. , & Patrucco, G. (2019). Structure-from-motion (SFM) photogrammetry as a non-invasive methodology to digitalize historical documents: A highly flexible and low-cost approach? Heritage Review (Bismarck, ND), 2 , 2124–2136. doi: 10.3390/heritage2030128

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