The Cannobino is a little river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 or stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 located in the province of Verbano Cusio Ossola in the region

Regions of Italy

The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....

 of Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

 in the north of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, which by the local population often is simply called 'Il Fiume' (the river).

River basin

The Cannobino rises on the slopes of the Italian Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 near the Cima della Laurasca (alt. 2195m) and meanders through the Cannobino valley (in Italian 'Valle Cannobina'). The first 20 kilometers
the stream is not wider than some ten meters, but next to the church of Sant'Anna in the villages of Traffiume the water flows through a cleft that is many meters deep and ends up in an almost 100 meters wide and a few meters deep natural waterbasin.
From here on the stream winds itself through an over 50 meters wide bed through the town of Cannobio

Cannobio

Cannobio is a town and comune on Lago Maggiore in Piedmont, Italy.-History:The local inhabitants probably became subject to Roman rule by the time of the emperor Augustus. Sarcophagi from the 2nd-3rd century CE have been found and conserved in the "Palazzo della Ragione".The first documented...

 to flow into the Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...

 (in Italian 'Lago Maggiore') (alt. 192m).
On this approximately 25 kilometer long journey the river crosses the following municipalities: Malesco

Malesco

Malesco is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km north of Verbania...

, Cursolo-Orasso

Cursolo-Orasso

Cursolo-Orasso is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km north of Verbania, on the border with Switzerland...

, Gurro

Gurro

Gurro is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 140 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km northeast of Verbania...

, Falmenta

Falmenta

Falmenta is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 km northeast of Turin and about 15 km north of Verbania...

, Cavaglio-Spoccia

Cavaglio-Spoccia

Cavaglio-Spoccia is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 140 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km northeast of Verbania, on the border with Switzerland...

 and finally Cannobio.

Torrente

In general the Cannobino is a quietly flowing stream, but a couple of times a year the influx of water from the surrounding mountains suddenly increases strongly, causing the stream to change into a wild watermass. For this reason the Cannobino is called a 'torrente'.

Recreation

The Cannobino is mainly used for recreation

Recreation

Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...

al purposes. A number of campgrounds

Campsite

A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...

 and hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s are situated on its banks

Bank (geography)

A geographic bank has four definitions and applications:# Limnology: The shoreline of a pond, swamp, estuary, reservoir, or lake. The grade can vary from vertical to a shallow slope....

and near the Sant'Anna cleft the stream is wide and deep enough for diving, swimming and sailing rubber boats.

External links

• Overview of the entire course of the Cannobino on Google maps