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73-669: Saint-Paul-lès-Durance ( French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ pɔl lɛ dyʁɑ̃s] , literally Saint-Paul near Durance ; also spelled Saint-Paul-lez-Durance ; Provençal : Sant Pau de Durença ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in Provence , southern France . The Cadarache research center for nuclear energy is located in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance and next to it the international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject ITER

146-463: A 149 km (93 mi) section of the Rhône was made navigable for small ships up to Seyssel . As of 2017 , the part between Lyon and Sault-Brénaz is closed for navigation. The Saône, which is also canalized, connects the Rhône ports to the cities of Villefranche-sur-Saône , Mâcon and Chalon-sur-Saône . Smaller vessels (up to CEMT class I ) can travel further northwest, north and northeast via

219-541: A bridge at Sisteron was recorded. At other places there were ferries, in particular at Pertuis , whose name is based on it ferry. Although it was difficult to cross, except in Sisteron, the Durance was nevertheless navigable. The bas-reliefs at Cabrières-d'Aigues depict the river being used for the transport of various liquid food products such as wine and olive oil. Gallo-Romans used the towpaths ( helciarii ) and

292-498: A huge toothed "claw"wheel 6.5 metres (21 ft) across to grip the river bed in the shallows to supplement the paddle wheels. In the 20th century, powerful motor barges propelled by diesel engines were introduced, carrying 1,500 tonnes (3,300,000 lb). In 1933, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) was established to improve navigation and generate electricity, also to develop irrigated agriculture and to protect

365-528: A maximum flood of 1,700 cubic metres per second (60,000 cu ft/s) (value recorded in 1957). At the confluence with the Rhône, the average natural flow of the Durance is approximately 190 cubic metres per second (6,700 cu ft/s), with a high annual variability. It can vary between 40 cubic metres per second (1,400 cu ft/s) (the most severe low water levels) and 6,000 cubic metres per second (210,000 cu ft/s) in catastrophic historic floods, levels reached in 1843, 1882 and 1886. At

438-597: A series of dams and diversion canals, with a navigation lock beside the hydroelectric power plant on each of these canals. The locks were up to 23 metres (75 ft) deep. After building the Génissiat dam on the Upper Rhône (with no lock) in 1948, designed to meet the electricity needs of Paris, twelve hydroelectric plants and locks were built between 1964 and 1980. With a total head of 162 m (531 ft), they produce 13 GWh of electricity annually, or 16% of

511-473: A very important part in the history of Provence , and largely contributed to the economic growth and population of the Marseilles area, after having been an obstacle for centuries. From Antiquity until the 19th century, the Durance was famous for the difficulty of crossing it, its massive floods and an inconstant flow. The width of its bed, the force and depth of its current, and the changes of course after

584-583: Is 251 cubic metres per second (8,900 cu ft/s). Below the dam, the Rhône receives the waters of the Arve , fed by the Mont Blanc massif, with a visibly higher sediment load and much lower temperature. After a total of 290 kilometres (180 mi) in Switzerland, the Rhône continues west, entering France and the southern Jura Mountains . It turns toward the south, past Lac de Bourget , which

657-421: Is an alpine river with a flow ranging from 18 to 197 cubic metres per second (640 to 6,960 cu ft/s). Its total drainage area is 14,225 square kilometres (5,492 sq mi). At the confluence with Ubaye , salmon used to thrive, and trout were found up as far as Sisteron, before the development of the river. Later it becomes a Mediterranean river with the characteristic morphology. The sources of

730-700: Is in the southwestern part of the Alps , in the Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon ; it flows southwest through the following departments and cities: The Durance's largest tributary is the Verdon . The Durance itself is a tributary of the Rhône and flows into the Rhône near Avignon . The Durance is the second longest (after the Saône) of the tributaries of the Rhône and the third largest in terms of its flow (after

803-412: Is only at the time of high flows that the water not diverted uses the river's natural channel. Along the river there are many habitats of both regional and European importance that are naturally governed by the varying flow of the river. These habitats include both mountain and Mediterranean types. The river with its valley is an important biological corridor, within the national green infrastructure and

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876-600: Is the Canal Saint-Julien  [ fr ] , dug in 1171 by the Marquis de Forbin. It was followed by the Adam de Craponne canal, 50 kilometres (31 mi) long, dug in nine months in 1554 from Silvacane  [ fr ] to Arles ), the canal des Alpilles , the canal de Marseille , the canal de Carpentras  [ fr ] , the canal de Manosque  [ fr ] , the canal de Ventavon , and

949-500: Is underground. The Durance provides today two-thirds of the water for the city of Marseilles. In 1955, the law defined the EDF Durance-Verdon project had three objectives: Over 40 years, this project required the construction of 23 dams and water extraction points starting upstream of Claux sur Argentiere down to Mallemort and the supply of 33 hydroelectric power stations and several control stations. This programme

1022-470: Is very low. The annual maximum flow generally occurs in May or June, but the most violent flash floods occur in autumn. The lowest water levels occur in winter in the upper valley, and in summer in the middle and lower part of the river. The river is famous historically for its unstable course and violent floods. In the 12th century the Durance had swept away the town of Rama (between Briançon and Embrun, with

1095-508: The Calavon , which flows around the Lubéron range to the north. This is a list of rivers longer than 20 kilometres (12 mi) that flow into the Durance. They are listed in order of the confluence, starting upstream. A river is known as " capricious ", alternating between its feared flash floods (it was called the third plague of Provence) and its low water levels. The upper Durance

1168-724: The Cavares ( Cavaillon ) and the Salyes ( Bouches-du-Rhône ). The valley of the Durance is a route through the Alps, used by the Via Domitia . A statue of Janus was erected at Montgenèvre, the only passage between Cisalpine Gaul and Gallia Narbonensis Strabon (1st century) reported that a ferry was established in Cavaillon, The great Roman way from Spain to Italy only crossed the Durance at Cavaillon and Sisteron. The existence of

1241-875: The Centre -Loire-Briare and Loing Canals to the Seine , via the Canal de la Marne à la Saône (recently often called the " Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne ") to the Marne , via the Canal des Vosges (formerly called the "Canal de l'Est – Branche Sud") to the Moselle and via the Canal du Rhône au Rhin to the Rhine . The Rhône is infamous for its strong current when the river carries large quantities of water: current speeds up to 10 km/h (6.2 mph) are sometimes reached, particularly in

1314-506: The Drôme in south-eastern France. All these rivers have their sources in mountains, and are fast-running. The Durance retains its name rather than either the Clarée or Guisane , even though the latter two are longer than the Durance when they each merge. The Durance is better known than the other two rivers because the Durance valley is an old and important trade route, whereas the valleys of

1387-642: The Gyronde  [ fr ] , and then still nearly 8 m/km (16 ft/mi) to the confluence with the Ubaye. This descent stays relatively steep after this confluence, then shallows to approximately 0.33% in its middle course (to the Mirabeau bridge), then 0.24% in its lower course. For comparison, at approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) from its source, the Isère is at 330 metres (1,080 ft) altitude and

1460-859: The Little Rhône ( le Petit Rhône ). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region. The river's source is the Rhône Glacier , at the east edge of the Swiss canton of Valais . The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif , which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss , Rhine and Ticino . The Rhône is, with the Po and the Nile , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with

1533-724: The Saône and Isère ). The Durance is documented as Druentia (1st c. AD), Drouéntios (Δρουέντιος; 2nd c. AD), Durantia (854) and Durentia (1127). The name Dru-ent-ia probably means 'the flowing one', stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root * dreu - ('to run, walk fast'). Similar names are found in the names of many rivers in the Western Alps : Dora in Italy, Dranse in Haute-Savoie , and

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1606-538: The Seine flooding of 1910 was estimated at approximately 2,400 cubic metres per second (85,000 cu ft/s). Even lesser floods were devastating. The flood of 31 May and 1 June 1877 swept away the bridge of Tallard . In the 20th century, the floods were less frequent and violent thanks to the dams and the re-afforestation in the Durance basin, but there were still serious floods in 1957 and 1994 with maxima measured at Mirabeau and at Sisteron of 2,800 cubic metres per second (99,000 cu ft/s); and this volume

1679-821: The Swiss Alps , at an altitude of approximately 2,208 metres (7,244 ft). From there it flows southwest through Gletsch and the Goms, the uppermost valley region of the Valais before Brig . In the Brig area, it receives the waters of the Massa from the Aletsch Glacier , the longest glacier of the Alps, and shortly after, it receives the waters of the Vispa , the longest affluent in Valais. After that, it flows onward through

1752-562: The Ubaye was flooded as the lake filled. The middle part of the Durance runs through a landscape that changes as the valley increasingly widens. The river itself becomes steeply banked by terraces , and carves a channel, sometimes a few metres deep, sometimes tens of metres deep. In its middle and lower reaches the Durance is affected by the Mediterranean climate: flooding after autumnal rains, with low water levels in summer. Just before

1825-518: The most expensive building ever built and the largest scientific research collaboration in history. The town was established in the 10th century and has around 1,000 inhabitants, a school, a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Aix , a 15th-century château, and a little shopping center. This Bouches-du-Rhône geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Durance Its source

1898-736: The narrow gap in the mountains at Sisteron, the Durance joins Buëch and the Sasse  [ fr ] . Water also flows in from the EDF Canal . Beyond Sisteron further rivers and streams join the Durance: Jabron, Vançon, Bléone near Les Mées and from the Asse (river) a few kilometres to the south of Oraison . The Verdon flows into the Durance near Cadarache . The valley widens still further into an alluvial plain several kilometres wide (5 kilometres (3.1 mi) near Manosque ). Here

1971-430: The 12th to the 19th century, the river was used for floating timber downstream, in particular by the monks of Boscodon Abbey  [ fr ] , who were given the privilege in 1191 to use the river. ) The timber was used in the towns of the southern plains and in the shipyards. Other goods were transported by the river, including salt , those these were subject to ten tolls along the 300 kilometres (190 mi) of

2044-621: The 16th century. Between 1832 and 1890, the Durance had 188 floods of more than 3 metres (10 ft) (measured at the Mirabeau Bridge). The flood of 1843 carried away several newly built suspension bridges: the 1829 bridge at Remollon , the 1835 bridge at Mirabeau, the unfinished bridge at Manosque and the 1838 bridge at Les Mées. The flood of 1872 also swept away the 1847 bridge at Mallemort . The catastrophic floods of 1843, 1856, 1886 attained 5,000 to 6,000 cubic metres per second (180,000 to 210,000 cu ft/s) For comparison,

2117-659: The Alps. From Lyon, the Rhône flows south, in its large valley between the Alps and the Massif Central . At Arles , the Rhône divides into two major arms forming the Camargue delta , both branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the delta being termed the Rhône Fan. The larger arm is called the "Grand Rhône", the smaller the "Petit Rhône". The average annual discharge at Beaucaire is 1,700 m /s (60,000 cu ft/s). The main tributaries of

2190-624: The Clarée and Guisane are effectively dead ends. The Durance is 305 kilometres (190 mi) long from its source at the foot of Sommet des Anges, at 2,390 metres (7,840 ft) high, above Montgenèvre , to its confluence with the Rhône. However, a longer route is traced by the Clarée-Durance system with a length of 325 kilometres (202 mi). Its descent is unusually rapid at 81 m/km (165 ft/mi) in its first 12 km (7.5 mi), then 15 m/km (30 ft/mi) to its confluence with

2263-424: The Durance at 700 metres (2,300 ft), which contributes partially to its fast-flowing nature, including in the lower part of the river. It drops 1,847 metres (6,060 ft) from its source to Mirabeau and approximately 2,090 metres (6,860 ft) from its source to the confluence with the Rhône . The river only runs through the towns of Briançon and Sisteron  — built where the banks are very steep —

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2336-458: The Durance flowed directly into the Mediterranean. During the Riss glaciation , the source of the Durance was at Sisteron, where the icecap finished. As the ice-cap receded, the Durance course changed towards the west, between Luberon and Alpilles, and flowed into the Rhône. In pre-Roman times, the Durance was the border between various Celto-Ligurian people established along its course, such as

2409-844: The Morge and Hermance, the lake is divided by the two countries along its centreline, with the left bank in France. The remainder of the lake is Swiss, including the entire right (north) bank. Here, the tributaries are the Veveyse , the Venoge , the Aubonne , the Morges , among other smaller rivers. Lake Geneva ends in the city of Geneva , where the lake level is controlled by the Le Seujet dam  [ fr ] . The average discharge from Lake Geneva

2482-498: The Pan-European ecological network . Consequently, it is classified as a Natura 2000 protected area. Currently there are between 150 and 200 species of benthic macroinvertebrates , but with few plant species (due to the greatly changing flow of the river). Water quality is considered good in the higher valley, in spite of the number of dams, which deprive the Durance of the power needed to carry sediment away. This quality

2555-591: The Rhône are, from source to mouth: The Rhône has been an important highway since the times of the Greeks and Romans . It was the main trade route from the Mediterranean to east-central Gaul . As such, it helped convey Greek cultural influences to the western Hallstatt and the later La Tène cultures. Celtic tribes living near the Rhône included the Seduni , Sequani, Segobriges , Allobroges , Segusiavi , Helvetii , Vocontii and Volcae Arecomici . Navigation

2628-573: The Rhône drains via the Canal de Savières . Continuing generally westward, the Rhône then receives the waters of the Valserine , enters the reservoir created by the Génissiat Dam , and is then joined by the Ain . Reaching Lyon , the most populous city on its course, the Rhône receives its biggest tributary, the Saône , with an average flow of 473 m /s (16,700 cu ft/s), compared to

2701-602: The Rhône's 600 m /s (21,000 cu ft/s) at this point. From this confluence, the Rhône follows a southward course. Along the Rhône Valley, it is joined on the right (western) bank by the rivers Eyrieux , Ardèche , Cèze , and Gardon coming from the Cévennes mountains ; and on the left bank by the rivers Isère , (with an average discharge of 333 m /s (11,800 cu ft/s)), Drôme , Ouvèze , and Durance (188 m /s (6,600 cu ft/s)) from

2774-492: The adjective derived from the river is rhodanien , as in le sillon rhodanien (literally "the furrow of the Rhône"), which is the name of the long, straight Saône and Rhône river valleys, a deep cleft running due south to the Mediterranean and separating the Alps from the Massif Central . Before railroads and highways were developed, the Rhône was an important inland trade and transportation route, connecting

2847-481: The aqueducts out of stone or stone and brick. The volume of water flowing through the canal is 10 cubic metres per second (350 cu ft/s) with the slope of 0.36 metres per kilometre (1.9 ft/mi). The width across the surface of the canal is 9.4 metres (31 ft), and 3 metres (9.8 ft) at its base. The water was first abstracted near the bridge of Pertuis , at an elevation of 185 metres (607 ft), 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Marseilles. From there

2920-488: The canal diverges to the west from the Durance to Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade . Following the construction of the large EDF canal, which follows the Durance from Serre-Ponçon until Salon-de-Provence and the Étang de Berre , the water for the canal of Marseilles is now taken from the EDF canal, below Saint-Estève-Janson . From there to Marseille the canal follows an 80-kilometre (50 mi) path, of which 17 kilometres (11 mi)

2993-443: The cities of Arles , Avignon , Valence , Vienne and Lyon to the Mediterranean ports of Fos-sur-Mer , Marseille and Sète . Travelling down the Rhône by barge would take three weeks. By motorized vessel, the trip now takes only three days. The Rhône is classified as a Class V waterway for the 325 km-long (202-mile) section from the mouth of the Saône at Lyon to the sea at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône . Upstream from Lyon,

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3066-412: The confluence of Biaisse) . These increased in number and force from the second half of the 16th century, though lessened in the 20th century. The period of increased flooding was not only due to the cooling starting from the 14th and until the 19th century (with increased rain and snowfall), but also because the major deforestation of the slopes of the mountains of the basin of the Durance, starting from

3139-521: The country's total hydroelectric production (20% if the Upper Rhône schemes are added). There have been significant benefits for agriculture throughout the Rhône valley. With the Lower Rhône project completed, CNR turned its attention to the Haut-Rhône (Upper Rhône), and built four hydropower dams in the 1980s: Sault-Brénaz, Brégnier-Cordon, Belley-Brens and Chautagne. It also drew up plans for

3212-627: The crossroads at Sisteron, at the place called 'Le Bourguet'. In the vicinity of L'Escale a port existed before the Roman conquest, but was developed during the 1st century BC, and was prosperous until the Crisis of the 3rd Century , before recovering its economic activity until the beginning of the 5th century. In the Middle Ages, the county of Forcalquier stretched all along the Durance, from Cavaillon to La Roche-de-Rame , close to Embrun . From

3285-765: The dams were built, but there was probably once a greater diversity. For some families of birds the number of individuals also increased. There are approximately 75 species of mammals in the Durance catchment area, including: Eurasian beaver , southwestern water vole , Eurasian water shrew , many species of bat (barbastelle ( Barbastella barbastellus , large murine ( Myotis myotis ), large rhinolophe ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ), minioptère of Schreibers ( Miniopterus schreibersi ), small murine ( Myotis blythii ), small rhinolophe ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ), vespertilion with indented ears ( Myotis emarginatus ), and vespertilion of Capaccini ( Myotis capaccinii )). invasive are becoming more problematic including coypu and

3358-706: The drought of 1921) i.e. a ratio of 1:133 between minimum and maximum. Three types of islands are formed in the bed of the Durance: Hautes-Alpes ;: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence : Between the Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône ;: Dams have been built since the Middle Ages to prevent flooding. At first they were often boxes of wood filled up of stones, but these do not resist the floods for long. Dams have also long been used for irrigation. The first known irrigation canal

3431-511: The floods hindered crossing by ford. The only durable fords are those of Mirabeau and Pertuis, obviously unusable in periods of floods. The changes in the flow also limited river navigation (in spite of size of the river in periods with a high flow. It sometimes needed several ferries to cross the various arms or channels. The unstable and sometimes steep banks prevented easy access to ferries. In more recent times even suspension bridges often had to be re-built after floods. Twelve million years ago,

3504-412: The historical region of Chablais . It then enters Lake Geneva near Le Bouveret , where the water flows west. On the left (south) bank of Lake Geneva, the river Morge joins at the village of Saint-Gingolph , and also marks the French-Swiss border. Westward, the Dranse (unrelated to the Drance) enters the lake with its preserved delta , and then the Hermance marks another French-Swiss border. Between

3577-400: The hundreds of other smaller ones, totalling 540 kilometres (340 mi) dug between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 19th century. From 1839 to 1854, the engineer Franz Mayor de Montricher built a canal to supply the city of Marseille with drinking water. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) long with 17 kilometres (11 mi) underground. The canal is made out of concrete, and

3650-433: The large glaciers of the massifs of Monte Rosa , Dom , and Grand Combin , but also from the steeper slopes of the Bernese Alps to the north, and the Mont Blanc massif to the west. As a result, the Rhône Valley experiences a drier climate than the rest of Switzerland , being sheltered by the three highest ranges of the Alps, making Valais the driest and largest wine region of the country. At Martigny, where it receives

3723-416: The larger Clarée river, and then passes through Briançon before the Guisane joins it. It then continues south combining with the Gyronde  — the Écrins glacial stream  — at L'Argentière-la-Bessée . The confluence with the Guil occurs below Guillestre and Mont-Dauphin . The Durance then flows south-south-west and flows into the Lac de Serre-Ponçon just downstream of Embrun . The confluence with

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3796-626: The largest water discharge . The name Rhône continues the Latin Rhodanus name ( Greek Ῥοδανός Rhodanós ) in Greco-Roman geography . The Gaulish name of the river was * Rodonos or * Rotonos (from a PIE root * ret- "to run, roll" frequently found in river names). Names in other languages include German : Rhone [ˈroːnə] ; Walser : Rotten [ˈrotən] ; Italian : Rodano [ˈrɔːdano] ; Arpitan : Rôno [ˈʁono] ; Occitan : Ròse [ˈrɔze, ˈʀɔze] ; and Romansh : Rodan . The Greco-Roman as well as

3869-454: The other towns are built on slopes close to the river: The Durance catchment area extends to three other departments: Var , Drôme and Alpes-Maritimes . The Durance is the longest river in Metropolitan France without a department named after it. The source of La Durance is on the northern slope of the Sommet des Anges  [ fr ] , where the first small streams combine into a river. This runs near to Montgenèvre and then flows into

3942-410: The outlet into the Lac de Serre-Ponçon, the medium flow is 81 cubic metres per second (2,900 cu ft/s); at Oraison it is 123 cubic metres per second (4,300 cu ft/s) and after the confluence with the Verdon, flow reaches 174 cubic metres per second (6,100 cu ft/s) (250 to 330 m³/s in spring, 100 m³/s in the summer ). The contribution of water from the downstream tributaries

4015-402: The recently arrived muskrat . Otters have recently become extinct in the entire catchment area. The populations of algae and water plants (100 species on average) and water invertebrates (77 species) are more varied than before the dams compared with populations on the similar Asse and Buëch . Ludwigia , the primrose willow, is an invasive plant having gradually spread since 1986 in

4088-438: The reconstructed Gaulish name is masculine, as is French le Rhône . This form survives in the Spanish/Portuguese and Italian namesakes, el/o Ródano and il Rodano , respectively. German has adopted the French name but given it the feminine gender, die Rhone . The original German adoption of the Latin name was also masculine, der Rotten ; it survives only in the Upper Valais ( dialectal Rottu ). In French,

4161-436: The river was diverted for the development of modern agriculture and the construction of the A51 motorway. There are several dams along the middle part of the Durance. In addition to main dam at Serre-Ponçon, there are dams at Espinasses , Sisteron, L'Escale and Cadarache. There are small canals whose primary purpose is to draw water from the river into the EDF Canal which in turn feeds the hydroelectric power stations. Some of

4234-424: The river. Rh%C3%B4ne The Rhône ( / r oʊ n / ROHN , French: [ʁon] ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea ( Gulf of Lion ). At Arles , near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (French: le Grand Rhône ) and

4307-443: The riverside towns and land from flooding. Some progress was made in deepening the navigation channel and constructing scouring walls, but World War II brought such work to a halt. In 1942, following the collapse of Vichy France , Italian military forces occupied southeastern France up to the eastern banks of the Rhône, as part of the Italian Fascist regime's expansionist agenda. In 1948, the French government started construction of

4380-464: The stagnant water in dead gravel pits and ponds. There are only fourteen fish species, including some native species: souffia , south-west European nase and large populations of Zingel asper and spined loach which are both endangered species of fish. But the silting and the lack of oxygen has greatly reduced the number of trout . The European brook lamprey has been seen in recent times but it may have disappeared since. The Durance played

4453-416: The stretch below the last lock at Vallabrègues and in the relatively narrow first diversion canal south of Lyon. The 12 locks are operated daily from 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. All operation is centrally controlled from one control centre at Châteauneuf. Commercial barges may navigate during the night hours by authorisation. The Rhône begins as the meltwater of the Rhône Glacier in Valais , in

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4526-530: The summer and 10 °C (50 °F) in the winter. These are a significant factor in the biodiversity of the river. The dams in the valley have reduced the incidence of floods and so have allowed the colonisation of alluvial space by alder and poplar in riparian forests . The banks, although less wet, still accommodate 110 species of birds during the year, plus 82 species of migratory birds , which rest, feed and sometime reproduce. One-hundred-ten species of animal hibernate there. Avian diversity increased after

4599-412: The upper river used barques du Rhône , sailing barges, 30 by 3.5 metres (98 by 11 ft), with a 75-tonne (165,000 lb) capacity. As many as 50 to 80 horses were employed to haul trains of five to seven craft upstream. Goods would be transshipped at Arles into 23-metre (75 ft) sailing barges called allèges d'Arles for the final run down to the Mediterranean. The first experimental steam boat

4672-430: The valley which bears its name and runs initially in a westerly direction about thirty kilometers to Leuk , then southwest about fifty kilometers to Martigny . Down as far as Brig , the Rhône is a torrent; it then becomes a great mountain river running southwest through a glacial valley. Between Brig and Martigny , it collects waters mostly from the valleys of the Pennine Alps to the south, whose rivers originate from

4745-415: The water are a combination of melting snow and the drainage of rain from the surrounding hills and plateaux which have a Mediterranean climate . The latter's tributaries bring rain water mainly in spring, autumn and winter but little during the summer. At Serre-Ponçon, its basin of 3,600 square kilometres (1,400 sq mi) can create a flow as low as 18 cubic metres per second (640 cu ft/s) and

4818-530: The water diverted by the dams is used for irrigation. The valley narrows for a few kilometres until the water gap at Mirabeau, at a depth of 200 metres (660 ft), then widens again into an even broader plain until the confluence with the Rhône south of Avignon . Its direction changes from southerly to westerly then northwesterly, aligning with the small Provençal mountain ranges between which it flows ( Alpilles and Luberon ). The Durance receives only one significant tributary on this last part of its course:

4891-421: The waters of the Drance on its left bank, the Rhône makes a sharp turn towards the north. Heading toward Lake Geneva ( French : Le Léman ), the valley narrows near Saint-Maurice , a feature that has long given the Rhône valley strategic importance for the control of the Alpine passes. The Rhône then marks the boundary between the cantons of Valais (left bank) and Vaud (right bank), separating two parts of

4964-433: The wind to move upstream. Several specialized businesses maintained this system transport. Workers known as nautes had a monopoly of transport on large rivers and used boats, whereas the utricularii operated on the small rivers and in the marshes using rafts floating on inflated goatskins. There were two groups of utriculari, one in Sisteron and one in Riez. This trade fed the activity of an important port, near to

5037-507: Was an almost complete success: The Durance used to have an average natural flow of 188 cubic metres per second (6,600 cu ft/s) and behaved like a Mediterranean river, but dams and canals have changed it considerably. When the flow is low, most of the water in the river now flows in "industrial channels" which by-pass the natural course of the river to run through hydro-electric power stations. These channels can take up to 250 cubic metres per second (8,800 cu ft/s), so that it

5110-433: Was built at Lyon by Jouffroy d'Abbans in 1783. Regular services were not started until 1829 and they continued until 1952. Steam passenger vessels 80 to 100 metres (260–330 ft) long made up to 20 km/h (11 kn) and could do the downstream run from Lyon to Arles in a day. Cargo was hauled in bateau-anguilles , boats 157 by 6.35 metres (515.1 by 20.8 ft) with paddle wheels amidships, and bateaux crabes ,

5183-404: Was difficult, as the river suffered from fierce currents, shallows, floods in spring and early summer when the ice was melting, and droughts in late summer. Until the 19th century, passengers travelled in coches d'eau (water coaches) drawn by men or horses, or under sail. Most travelled with a painted cross covered with religious symbols as protection against the hazards of the journey. Trade on

5256-460: Was increased at the confluence with the Verdon by a further 500 cubic metres per second (18,000 cu ft/s). The height of the water at the gorge at Cadarache is at 472 millimetres (18.6 in), after an average of 750 millimetres (30 in) of rain because 63% of the rain flows into the Durance. At Mirabeau, the lowest flow was 27 cubic metres per second (950 cu ft/s) (during

5329-663: Was obtained thanks to actions of clean-up projects on the river itself and on the tributaries of the Luye and Calavon (also called le Coulon)). There remain some black spots in the valley (downstream from the Arkema factory at Château-Arnoux , below the confluence with the Calavon. The 320 millimetres (13 in) depth variation results in significant temperature variations, from 0 to 28 °C (32 to 82 °F) seasonally; daily temperatures have 7.5 °C (45.5 °F) of amplitude in

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