Durance
The Durance (Occitan: Durença) is a river in southeastern France, a left tributary of the Rhône river. It is the longest river in Metropolitan France without a department named after it.
| Durance | |
|---|---|
| Progression | Template:RRhône |
| Length | 323 km (201 mi)[1] |
Geography
The Durance river has a length of 320.9 km (199 mi) and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 14,342 km2 (5,537 sq mi).[1]
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is 175 m3/s (6,200 cu ft/s) at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance in the Bouches-du-Rhône department at an altitude of 247 m (810 ft), for a period of 95 years.[2]
Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
Course
The Durance starts in the pré de Gondran ("meadow of Gondran"), on the east side of the Sommet des Anges mountain, in the commune of Montgenèvre (a ski resort near Briançon), Hautes-Alpes department, at an elevation of about 2,325 m (7,628 ft). It then flows to the southwest through the departments of Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône.
Finally, the river flows into the Rhône river, as a left tributary, south of the city of Avignon.
The Durance only flows through two departments: Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; it forms the border between two other departments but it does not flow through them: Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône. It flows through the Var department only for a short distance.
It flows through the following communes, among others:[1]
Main tributaries
The main tributaries of the Durance river are:[1]
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Left tributaries:
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Right tributaries:
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Gallery
The source of the Durance
The Durance in Rognonas
The Durance near Avignon
Confluence of the Durance with the Rhône
Durance Media
The dam at the Lac de Serre-Ponçon
Durance Valley at Les Mées, in the northern part of Plateau de Valensole. In the background is the Mourre de Chanier mountain. The EDF Canal is the thin white line in the distance between the tree line and the base of the hills.
The Durance, close to Cavaillon
La Durance, rivière du sud-est de la France, en cru.
Plume of water rising at the dam of Serre-Ponçon seen from the bridge at Espinasse - May 30, 2008
Spillway of Serre-Ponçon dam seen from Espinasse bridge - May 30, 2008
Le pont-barrage de l'Escale (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) sur la Durance, vu du chemin de fer Marseille - Gap. La route nationale 85 (Sisteron - Digne) passe sur la travée haute de l'ouvrage.
Viaduct at Cavaillon for LGV Méditerranée
Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "La Durance (X---0000)" (in français). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "La Durance à Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (Jouques-Cadarache)" (in français). Banque Hydro. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
Other websites
- Val de Durance Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- Mixed syndicate working on the valley of the Durance (in French)