Adour

Adour
River
The Adour river at Bayonne
Country	France
Regions	Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Departments	Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Communes	Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Tarbes, Maubourguet, Riscle, Aire-sur-l'Adour, Dax, Tarnos, Bayonne
Tributaries
- left	Échez, Lées, Gabas, Louts, Luy, Gaves Réunis, Bidouze, Nive
- right	Arros, Midouze, Luzou
Cities	Tarbes, Dax, Bayonne
Source	Arbizon
- location	Massif de l'Arbizon, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
- elevation	2,831 m (9,288 ft)
- coordinates	42°52′32″N 0°16′21″E
Mouth	Atlantic Ocean
- location	near Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	43°31′48″N 1°31′28″W
Length	309 km (192 mi)
Basin	16,912 km² (6,530 sq mi)
Discharge	for Boucau
- average	350 m³/s (12,360 cu ft/s)
Map of the Adour River
Wikimedia Commons: Adour

The Adour (Basque: Aturri, Occitan: Ador) is a river in southwestern France that flows through the Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions.

It rises in the Pyrenees, at the Arbizon mountain, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne.

Geography

The Adour river has a length of 309 km (192 mi), and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 16,912 km² (6,530 sq mi).

Course

The Adour river is born, as Adour de Payolle, at the north side of the Arbizon mountain. In the Campan valley, that is formed by three smaller valleys corresponding to the sources of the three Adours (Adour de Payolle, Adour de Gripp and the Adour de Lesponne), these small rivers meet at Campan (Arrondissement of Bagnères-de-Bigorre) to form the Adour river.

The Adour flows north for almost a hundred miles through the Hautes-Pyrénées to Gers. There, it turned to the west and gets into the Landes department. In Port-de-Lanne, the Adour is joined by the Gaves réunis river and, finally, it flows into the Bay of Biscay, in the Atlantic Ocean, between Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Tarnos (Landes).

The river is navigable (it is deep, wide and slow enough for a ship to pass) for about 72 km (45 mi) from its mouth.

Tributaries of the Adour

Some of the important tributaries (longer than 50 km) of the Adour are:

Left tributaries: Échez; 64.1 km; Lées; 56.1 km; Gabas; 116.7 km; Louts;86 km; Luy;154.5 km; Gaves réunis; 10 km (Gave de Pau 193.1 km); Bidouze; 82.2 km; Nive; 78.9 km;

Right tributaries Arros, 130.28 km; Midouze; 151.5 km;

Towns along the river

Départements and towns found along the river are:

• Hautes-Pyrénées: Campan, Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Tarbes, Maubourguet
• Gers: Riscle
• Landes: Aire-sur-l'Adour, Dax, Tarnos
• Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Bayonne

Gallery

• 

  The Adour at Riscle

• 

  The Adour at Aire-sur-l'Adour

• 

  The Adour view from Saint-Maurice-sur-Adour

• 

  The Adour at Saint-Sever

• 

  The Adour at Dax

• 

  The Adour between Urt and Saint-Laurent-de-Gosse

• 

  Bayonne, mouth of the Adour

• 

  Bayonne, mouth of the Adour

• 

  Bayonne, the commerce port

• 

  Adour seen from the bridge at Aire-sur-l'Adour

Related pages

• List of rivers of France

Other websites

• (French) L'Adour : histoire, géographie et détournement
• (French) L'adour et ses affluents, villes et villages, faune et flore, navigation et pêche