Garonne
Garonne is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 44.18°, 0.62°
About Garonne
The Garonne ( gə-RON, garr-ON; French: [ɡaʁɔn] ; Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Occitan: Garona, Occitan pronunciation: [ɡaˈɾunɔ]; Latin: Garumna
or Garunna) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a length of 529 km (329 mi), of which 47 km (29 mi) is in Spain (Val d'Aran); the total length extends to 602 km (374 mi) if one includes the Gironde estuary between the river and the sea. Its basin area is 56,000 km2 (22,000 sq mi), which increases to 84,811 km2 (32,746 sq mi) if the Dordogne River, which flows from the east and joins the Garonne at Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde estuary, is included.
Umayyad and Aquitanian forces fought the Battle of the River Garonne in 732 beside the river near present-day Bordeaux.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Garonne (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Garonne in Depth
Geography
The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Spanish Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret (42°42′34″N 0°56′43″E), the Ratera-Saboredo cirque 42°36′26″N 0°57′56″E), or the slopes of Pic Aneto (Salterillo-Barrancs ravine 42°38′59″N 0°40′06″E according to the season).
The Uelh deth Garona at 1,862 metres (6,109 ft) above sea level has been traditionally considered as the source of the Garonne. From this point a brook (called the Beret-Garona) runs for 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) to the bed of the main upper Garonne valley. The river runs for another 38 kilometres (24 mi) to the French border at Pont de Rei, 40.5 kilometres (25.2 mi) in total.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Garonne (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Garonne: Key Facts
| Length | 647 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 56,000 km² |
| Source | Pla de Beret |
| Mouth | Gironde estuary |
| Drainage system | Garonne basin |
| Tributaries | Ariège, Baïse, Gers, Lot, Tarn, Neste, Salat, Touch |
Facts from Wikidata Q5077 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Garonne: Quick Answers
- Where is Garonne?
- Garonne is located in France and Spain, at 44.1756° N, 0.6171° E.
- Are there dams on the Garonne?
- No dam on the Garonne is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.