Rhône
| Rhône | |
|---|---|
The Rhône in Lyon | |
| Native name | |
| Location | |
| Countries | Switzerland and France |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Rhône Glacier |
| • location | Obergoms, Valais, Switzerland |
| • elevation | 2,208 m (7,244 ft) |
| Mouth | Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion) |
• location | France |
• coordinates | 43°19′51″N 4°50′44″E / 43.33083°N 4.84556°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 813.69 km (505.60 mi) |
| Basin size | 98,000 km2 (38,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 1,710 m3/s (60,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 360 m3/s (13,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 13,000 m3/s (460,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Isère, Durance |
| • right | Ain, Saône |
The Rhône (/roʊn/ ROHN, French: [ʁon] ⓘ; Occitan: Ròse; Arpitan: Rôno)[1] is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion). At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (French: le Grand Rhône; Occitan: Grand Ròse) and the Little Rhône (le Petit Rhône; Pichon Ròse). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region.
The river's source is the Rhône Glacier, at the eastern edge of the Swiss canton of Valais. The glacier is part of the Saint-Gotthard Massif, which gives rise to three other major rivers: the Reuss, Rhine and Ticino.
The Rhône is, with the Po and the Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge.[2]
- ^ Walser: Rotten [ˈrotən]; Arpitan: Rôno [ˈʁono]; Occitan: Ròse [ˈrɔze, ˈʀɔze]
- ^ Margat, Jean F. (2004). Mediterranean Basin Water Atlas. UNESCO. p. 4. ISBN 9782951718159.
There are few rivers with an abundant flow. Only three rivers have a mean discharge of more than 1000 m3/s: the Nile (at Aswan), the Rhône and the Po.