From this point the river is navigable to Canton.
It is particularly noteworthy from the phosphorescence which it exhibits when heated, or after exposure to the sun's rays; hence its synonym "Canton's phosphorus," after John Canton (1718-1772), an English natural philosopher.
The canton is, save Zug, the smallest in the Swiss Confederation, while the city, long the most populous in the land, is now surpassed by Zurich and by Basel.
The canton has an area of 108.9 sq.
The Rhone flows through it from east to west, and then along its south-west edge, the total length of the river in or within the canton being about 13 m., as it is very sinuous.