Dordogne (river)

The Dordogne (Occitan: Dordonha) is a river in south-central and southwest France. The Dordogne river and its drainage basin was named as a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO on 11 July 2012.^[1]

Dordogne La Dordogne
The Dordogne in Périgord, near Castelnaud-la-Chapelle
Location of the Dordogne in France
Location
Country	France
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Massif Central
- elevation	1,720 m (5,640 ft)
Mouth
- location	Gironde estuary
- coordinates	45°2′29″N 0°36′24″W
Length	483 km (300 mi)
Basin size	23,870 km2 (9,220 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	450 m3/s (16,000 cu ft/s)

Geography

The Dordogne has a length of 483 km (300.1 mi), and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 23,957 km² (9,250 sq mi).^[2]

Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is 274 cubic metres per second at Bergerac.^[3]

Average monthly discharge (m³/s) at Bergerac (1958-2011)^[3]

Course

The Dordogne river at Bergerac

The Dordogne starts on the sides of the Puy de Sancy, Massif Central, in the commune of Mont-Dore, Puy-de-Dôme department, at an elevation of about 1,380 m (4,528 ft).^[4]

It flows generally west through the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the Dordogne department before flowing into the Gironde where it joins, in the north of the city of Bordeaux, the Garonne river to form the Gironde estuary, at about 1 m (3 ft) of altitude.^[5]

The Dordogne flows through 4 regions, 6 departments and 173 communes.^[2] The main communes are:

• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
  • Puy-de-Dôme: Mont-Dore, La Bourboule, La Bourboule, Avèze, Singles, Larodde, Labessette
  • Cantal: Beaulieu, Lanobre, Madic, Saint-Pierre, Champagnac, Veyrières, Arches, Chalvignac
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
  • Corrèze: Bort-les-Orgues, Saint-Julien-près-Bort, Liginiac, Neuvic, Soursac, Argentat, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
• Occitanie region
  • Lot: Carennac, Bétaille, Vayrac, Martel, Souillac
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
  • Dordogne: Carlux, Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Saint-Cyprien, Le Buisson-de-Cadouin, Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang, Lalinde, Mouleydier, Creysse, Bergerac, Prigonrieux
  • Gironde: Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Castillon-la-Bataille, Libourne, Fronsac, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Bourg, Cubzac-les-Ponts

Main tributaries

The main tributaries (more than 50 km long) of the Dordogne river are:

Left tributaries: Rhue - 56.6 km;[6] Maronne - 92.6 km;[7] Cère - 120.4 km;[8] Céou - 55.1 km;[9]

Right tributaries: Chavanon - 54.2 km;[10] Diège - 54.4 km;[11] Triouzoune - 51.3 km;[12] Luzège - 64.2 km;[13] Doustre - 51.2 km;[14] Vézère - 211.2 km;[15] Isle - 255.3 km;[16]

Gallery

• 
  The Dordogne near the town of Mont-Dore
• 
  The Dordogne and the Beynac castle
• 
  Meyronne and the Dordogne
• 
  Confluence of the Dordogne and the Isle rivers

Related pages

• List of rivers of France

References

1. "Bassin de la Dordogne (France)". UNESCO. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
2. "La Dordogne (P---0000)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
3. "La Dordogne à Bergerac" (in French). Banque Hydro. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
4. "Source de la Dordogne" (in French). Géoportail. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
5. "Confluence de la Dordogne" (in French). Géoportail. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
6. "Rivière La Rhue (P0--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
7. "La Maronne (P1--0250)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
8. "La Cère (P1--0290)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
9. "Le Céou (P24-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
10. "Le Chavanon (P00-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
11. "La Diège (P07-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
12. "La Triouzoune (P09-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
13. "La Luzège (P11-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
14. "Le Doustre (P13-0400)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
15. "La Vézère (P---0100)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
16. "L'Isle (P---0150)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2015.

Other websites

• Banque Hydro - Station P5140010 - La Dordogne à Bergerac Archived 2015-02-19 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• The Dordogne Valley in the Lot department (in French)
• The Dordogne Valley UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Archived 2015-08-01 at the Wayback Machine (in French)