Alps rivers such as the Danube have major tributaries flowing into them that originate in the Alps. 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. The Rhine originates in a 30 square kilometre area in Switzerland and represents almost 60 percent of water exported from the country. Tributary valleys, some of which are complicated, channel water to the main valleys which can experience flooding during the snow melt
Inn (river) at the Reschen Pass, since the 16th century at the latest the origin has been seen uniformly in the area of the lakes at the Maloja Pass. There may be a connection between the name Inn and the name of the French river Ain. The source is located in the Swiss Alps, west of St. Moritz in the Engadine region, which is named after the river (Romansh "Engiadina"; Latin "vallis Eniatina"). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course, Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana. It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and from Landeck