Charente (river)
| Charente | |
|---|---|
| File:Charente à Tonnay.jpg The Charente in Tonnay-Charente | |
| File:La Charente et ses affluents principaux.png The Charente and its main tributaries | |
| Lua error in Module:Infobox_mapframe at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Native name | Charanta (Occitan) |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Haute-Vienne |
| Mouth | |
• location | Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Length | 381 km (237 mi) |
| Basin size | 10,000 km2 (3,900 mi2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 40 m3/s (1,400 cu ft/s) |
The Charente (French: [ʃaʁɑ̃t] Audio file "Fr-Paris--Charente.ogg" not found; Occitan: Charanta [tʃaˈɾantɔ]) is a 381-kilometre (237 mi) long river in southwestern France.[1] Its source is in the Haute-Vienne département at Chéronnac, a small village near Rochechouart. It flows through the departments of Haute-Vienne, Charente, Vienne and Charente-Maritime. The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Rochefort.
Navigation
[edit | edit source]The Charente was described by the French king François I as 'the most beautiful river in the kingdom', and was navigable in its natural state until mills were erected at many locations in the 14th century.[2] Some locks were built but through navigation remained impossible for centuries. Improvements to the navigation were projected under Louis XVI in 1772, but work was interrupted by the Revolution. The project was revived under the Restoration and canalisation completed in 1835. The waterway was abandoned in 1957. The départements took over operation in 1963, and the waterway is now entirely recreational for the 164 km to the town of Angoulême.
The historic towns of Cognac, Jarnac, Saintes and Rochefort make the river a popular destination for boaters, mainly in rental boats, with moorings provided at most towns and villages along the route. The locks are 34.8 by 6.5 metres (114 by 21 ft).[3]
Tributaries
[edit | edit source]Tributaries include the rivers Antenne, Boëme, Né, Coran, Seugne, Bramerit, Boutonne, Arnoult, Touvre and Bonnieure.[1]
The river Boutonne is navigable over a distance of 31 km to Saint-Jean-d'Angély, but a barrier at the confluence prevents access except under exceptional conditions.
Towns
[edit | edit source]Towns and villages include Vergeroux, Soubise, Rochefort and Tonnay-Charente on the tidal river, and Saint-Savinien, Taillebourg, Saintes, Cognac, Jarnac, Saint-Simon and Angoulême on the navigable river, while Montignac-Charente and Civray are on the river's upper course.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Charente (amont et aval), Fluviacarte
External links
[edit | edit source]- River Charente and River Boutonne, with maps and details for navigation, by the author of Inland Waterways of France, referenced above
- Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals (French waterways website section)
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).