Interstellar extinction in the direction of the Aquila Rift

The distance dependence of interstellar extinction in the direction of the Aquila Rift is investigated using 473 stars observed in the Vilnius photometric system. The front edge of the dark clouds in the area is found to be at 225 +/- 55 pc and the thickness of the cloud system is about 80 pc. The maximum extinction A(V) in the clouds is close to 3.0 mag. Two stars with larger extinction are found and discussed. Since the new distance of the clouds is larger than the previously accepted distance, the cloud system mass should be increased to 2.7 x 10(5) M. which is close to the virial mass estimated from the CO velocity dispersion. Additional arguments are given in favor of the genetic relation between the Serpens and the Scorpio-Ophiuchus dark clouds.