Po (river) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Po |
|
|---|---|
The Po near Cremona, Lombardy
|
|
Map of the Po River watershed
|
|
| Country | Italy |
| Po Basin | Italy, Switzerland, France |
| Cities | Turin, Cremona, Piacenza, Ferrara |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Monte Viso Near Crissolo, Piedmont, Italy 3,700 m (12,100 ft) 44°42′5″N 7°5′35″E / 44.70139°N 7.09306°E |
| River mouth | Adriatic Sea Near Adria, Veneto, Italy 0 m (0 ft) 44°57′9″N 12°25′55″E / 44.95250°N 12.43194°E |
| Length | 652 km (405 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 74,000 km2 (29,000 sq mi) |
The Po (Latin: Padus, Italian: Po, ancient "Eridanus") is a river that flows 652 kilometers (405 miles) eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso (in the Cottian Alps) to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It has a drainage area of 71,000 km² and is the longest river in Italy.
It goes through many important Italian towns, including Turin (Torino) and (indirectly) Milan (Milano), in Lombardy. It is connected to Milan through a net of channels called navigli, which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called Po di Maestra, Po della Pila, Po delle Tolle, Po di Gnocca and Po di Goro) at the southern part of which is Comacchio, an area famous for eels. The Po valley corresponds to the Roman Cisalpine Gaul, divided in Cispadane Gaul (South of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (North of the Po).
The vast valley around the Po is called Pianura Padana and is so efficiently connected by the river that the whole valley became the main industrial area of the country. This river is subject to the authority of a special authority, the Magistrato delle Acque.
Roman poets sometimes referred to the Po river as Eridanus, which also has other meanings.
The main products of the farms around the river are cereals.
The po river also has large fish in the waters which can be found only in the summer. The river consists of 71,000,000 pounds of water that turns purple once every year. the temperature in the waters are below 1-.
Contents
Dry up
On May 4th, 2007 The river dried up in spots completely. Italy declared a state of emergency in the northern and central regions. The Alps had reduced snowfall the previous winter. It was Italy's warmest winter in 200 years. This may be related to Global Warming. There was some discussion about filling the river up by diverting water flows from large lakes and reservoirs in the Alps.
Tributaries
Tributaries include (R from the right side, L from the left, looking downstream):
- Pellice (L)
- Varaita (R)
- Maira (R)
- Dora Riparia (L)
- Stura di Lanzo (L)
- Orco (L)
- Dora Baltea (L)
- Sesia (L)
- Tanaro (R)
- Scrivia (R)
- Agogna (L)
- Ticino (L)
- Lambro (L)
- Trebbia (R)
- Nure (R)
- Adda (L)
- Arda (R)
- Taro (R)
- Parma (R)
- Enza (R)
- Oglio (L)
- Mincio (L)
- Secchia (R)
- Panaro (R)
Images for kids
-
Horse riding along the Po Delta.
-
The Po in San Mauro Torinese in July 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Po para niños
