Durance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Durance |
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| Durença | |
| River | |
 The Durance near Manosque
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| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Departments | Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône |
| Communes | Briançon, Embrun, Sisteron, Manosque, Cavaillon, Avignon |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Ubaye, Verdon |
| - right | Buëch, Coulon |
| City | Avignon |
| Source | Sommet des Anges |
| - location | Montgenèvre, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France |
| - elevation | 2,325 m (7,628 ft) |
| - coordinates | 44°53′37″N 6°43′17″E / 44.89361°N 6.72139°E |
| Confluence | Rhône |
| - location | Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France |
| - elevation | 20 m (66 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°55′22″N 4°44′37″E / 43.92278°N 4.74361°E |
| Length | 320.9 km (199 mi) |
| Basin | 14,342 km² (5,537 sq mi) |
| Discharge | for Saint-Paul-lès-Durance |
| - average | 175.0 m³/s (6,180 cu ft/s) |
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.
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).
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.
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:
- Hautes-Alpes
- Briançon
- Embrun
- Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- Sisteron
- Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban
- Manosque
- Vaucluse
Main tributaries
The main tributaries of the Durance river are:
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Left tributaries:
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Right tributaries:
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Gallery
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The source of the Durance
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The Durance in Rognonas
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The bridge on the Durance between Sisteron and the Baume
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The Durance near Avignon
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Confluence of the Durance with the Rhône
Related pages
Images for kids
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The dam at the Lac de Serre-Ponçon
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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.
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The Durance, close to Cavaillon
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The Durance in flood
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Le dam/bridge of l'Escale
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Viaduct at Cavaillon for LGV Méditerranée
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Sisteron from the air showing dam to the south of the town, and confluence with Buech from the right
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A section of the river between Noves and Chartreuse de Bonpas
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The Via Domitia crossing the Durance at Cavaillon
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Sisteron built on banks of the Durance
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The Palais Longchamp
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See also
In Spanish: Río Durance para niños
