Adour facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Adour |
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River | |
The Adour river at Bayonne
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Country | France |
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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 |
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 |
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) |
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.
Contents
Geography
The Adour river has a length of 309 km (192 mi), and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 16,912 km2 (6,530 sq mi).
Course
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 (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
Some of the important tributaries (longer than 50 km) of the Adour are:
Left tributaries:
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Right tributaries
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Towns along the river
Départements and towns found along the Adour river are:
- Hautes-Pyrénées: Campan, Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Tarbes, Maubourguet
- Gers: Riscle
- Landes: Aire-sur-l'Adour, Dax, Tarnos
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Bayonne
Hydrology
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.
Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (1918 - 2017)
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
Related pages
Images for kids
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a scow on the Adour in Bayonne in 1843 by Eugène de Malbos.
See also
In Spanish: Río Adur para niños