Loup (river)

River in France From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Loup (river)map

The Loup (French pronunciation: [lu] ; Occitan: Lop) is a river in the Alpes-Maritimes department, Southeastern France. With a length of 49 kilometres (30 mi), it ends in the Mediterranean Sea in Villeneuve-Loubet, near Cagnes-sur-Mer.[1] It takes its source in Andon.

Quick Facts Native name, Location ...
Loup
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The Gorges du Loup in Tourrettes-sur-Loup
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Native nameLa Liane (French)
Location
CountryFrance
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationMontagne de l'Audibergue (Alpes-Maritimes)
  coordinates43°46′3″N 6°47′20″E
Mouth 
  location
Mediterranean Sea
  coordinates
43°38′35″N 7°8′41″E
Length49 km (30 mi)
Basin size289 km2 (112 sq mi)
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Geography

The total length of the river is 49.3 kilometres (30.6 miles).[1]

The source of the Loup is north of the mountain of Audibergue in the municipality of Andon, a small town in the Alpes-Maritimes situated at nearly 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) above sea level and surrounded by small ski resorts.

The stream first turns east, then turns south and forms the Gorges du Loup, a series of gorges. After passing Bar-sur-Loup, it resumes its course towards the east, passes south of the city of Vence, then moves towards the south-east and arrives at Villeneuve-Loubet.

From there it flows into the Mediterranean Sea southwest of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Hydrology

The water flow in the Loup was observed for a period of 34 years (1980-2013) in Villeneuve-Loubet, a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department, located at its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea. The river's catchment area is 289 km2 (112 sq mi),[2] and the average flow rate is 4.480 m3/s.[3]

Cities and villages along the river

The Loup flows through the following cities and villages (source to mouth):

Andon, Gréolières, Cipières, Courmes, Gourdon, Pont-du-Loup, Bar-sur-Loup, La Colle-sur-Loup, Villeneuve-Loubet

Gorges du Loup

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Bridge over the Loup near Pont du Loup. The upper viaduct was destroyed during the Second World War.

The Gorges du Loup is a gorge carved by the Loup river in the Maritime Alps in France, about 45 minutes from Nice.

Waterfalls

There are several cascades in the gorge. Among them are the Saut du Loup and the Cascade de Courmes.

Climbing

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Alexandre Chabot climbs the 9a sport route PuntX

The gorge is a popular climbing area with several high-level routes, with at least 22 routes above the grade 5.14 (8c/+).[4] According to UKClimbing the gorge offers a total of 451 routes set in the French limestone.[5] The first free route in the gorge was Déversé Satanique, opened by Bernard Duterte in the mid-1980s. Now graded 8a+ (5.13c).[6]

9a difficulty routes

  • Kick Ass - August 2012 - Enzo Oddo[7]
  • Trip Tik Tonik - July 2011 - Gérome Pouvreau[8]
  • PuntX - 12 August 2007 - Alexandre Chabot[9]
  • Abysse - 28 July 2006 - Alexandre Chabot[10]
  • Kinematix - 6 October 2001 - Andreas Bindhammer[11]

References

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