Adour

river in France

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

Adour
L'Adour  (French)
Adour seen from the bridge at Aire-sur-l'Adour
Location
CountryFrance
Physical characteristics
Source 
 - locationHigh-Bigorre
 - elevation2,200 m (7,200 ft)
Mouth 
 - locationAtlantic Ocean
 - coordinates43°31′46″N 1°31′25″W / 43.52944°N 1.52361°W / 43.52944; -1.52361
Length308 km (191 mi)
Basin size16,880 km2 (6,520 sq mi)
Discharge 
 - average150 m3/s (5,300 cu ft/s)

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

Geography

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The Adour river has a length of 309 kilometres (192 miles).[1][N 1] Its drainage basin has an area of approximately 16,912 square kilometres (6,530 square miles).

Course

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The Adour river starts, as Adour de Payolle, at the north side of the Arbizon mountain. This river combines with the Adour de Gripp and the Adour de Lesponne to form the Adour river at Campan.

The Adour flows north for almost 160 kilometres (100 miles) through the Hautes-Pyrénées to Gers. There, it turns to the west and gets into the Landes department. In Port-de-Lanne, the Adour is joined by the Gaves réunis river. Finally, it flows into the Bay of Biscay, in the Atlantic Ocean, between Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Tarnos (Landes).

Boats can travel on the river beginning about 72 kilometres (45 miles) from its mouth.

Tributaries of the Adour

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Some of the important tributaries (longer than 50 kilometres [31 miles]) of the Adour are:

Left tributaries:

Right tributaries

Towns along the river

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Départements and towns found along the Adour river are:

Hydrology

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The average yearly discharge for the Adour river is 86.60 cubic metres per second (3,058 cubic feet per second) 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 changes. 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.

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  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

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  1. "L'Adour (Q---0000)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. "L'Echez (Q02-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  3. "Le Lées (Q10-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  4. "Le Gabas (Q13-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  5. "Le Louts (Q30-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. "Le Luy (Q3--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. "Gave de Pau (Q---0100)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. "La Bidouze (Q8--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  9. "La Nive (Q9--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  10. "L'Arros (Q0--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  11. "La Midouze (Q2--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "L'Adour à Saint-Vincent-de-Paul" (in French). Banque Hydro. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2017.

Other websites

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