The Drau rises on the northern slope of the Neunerkofel (Haunold group) above the Toblacher Feld in the Puster Valley in South Tyrol (Italy) in the municipality of Toblach (Italian Dobbiaco). The water from its five main springs flows a few hundred meters over steep meadows and forest floors to the bottom of the valley, where a real stream bed forms first. The Drau conquers over 430 meters in altitude in the first ten kilometers. The Toblacher Sattel forms an important watershed (main watershed), because the springs on the western slope of the Neunerkofel flow into the Rienza and thus further into the Adriatic. The Drau, however, flows eastwards and thus towards the Black Sea. It is one of the few rivers in Italy that does not drain into the Mediterranean. After a few kilometers, past Innichen, it crosses the border with East Tyrol, where it is dammed for the first time at Strassen.