Adour

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Coordinates: 43°31′48″N 1°31′28″W / 43.53000°N 1.52444°W / 43.53000; -1.52444
Adour
River
The Adour at Bayonne
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 / 42.87556°N 0.27250°E / 42.87556; 0.27250
Mouth Atlantic Ocean
 - location near Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 43°31′48″N 1°31′28″W / 43.53000°N 1.52444°W / 43.53000; -1.52444
Length 309 km (192 mi)
Basin 16,912 km² (6,530 sq mi)
Discharge for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
 - average 86.60 m³/s (3,058 cu ft/s)
Map of the Adour River
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[change | change source]

The Adour river has a length of 309 km (192 mi),[1][N 1] and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 16,912 km2 (6,530 sq mi).

Course[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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

Left tributaries:

Right tributaries

Towns along the river[change | change source]

Départements and towns found along the Adour river are:

Hydrology[change | change source]

The average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) for the Adour river is 86.60 m3/s (3,058 cu ft/s) at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in the Landes department.[12]

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (1918 - 2017)[12]

The Adour shows typical seasonal fluctuations. The highest levels of the river are in winter and spring, from December to May inclusive, with the highest level in February. They are followed by a rapid fall in the flow during the low water period that goes from July to October.

Gallery[change | change source]

Related pages[change | change source]

Notes[change | change source]

  1. ↑ This is the length including the Adour de Payolle, following SANDRE, the French official organism; other organisms give a shorter length because they start to measure from the Campan valley, at the confluence of three small rivers.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "L'Adour (Q---0000)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "L'Echez (Q02-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Le Lées (Q10-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Le Gabas (Q13-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Le Louts (Q30-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Le Luy (Q3--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Gave de Pau (Q---0100)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "La Bidouze (Q8--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "La Nive (Q9--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "L'Arros (Q0--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "La Midouze (Q2--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "L'Adour à Saint-Vincent-de-Paul" (in French). Banque Hydro. Retrieved 17 November 2017.

Other websites[change | change source]

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