View over the Rhône, looking downstream from the end of the Pont de Beaucaire, with a view of a sign, the river, and the railway
bridge.
View over the Rhône, looking downstream from the Pont de Beaucaire, with a view of the tree-covered island in the centre of the
river, and the railway bridge.
View over the Rhône, looking upstream from the Pont de Beaucaire, with a view of Beaucaire Castle.
The River Rhône (Latin Rhodanus, French Rhône, Occitan Rose) is one of the major rivers (ca. 800km [500
miles] long) of Europe, running through Switzerland and France.
Course
It rises near the Rhône glacier in Valais, Switzerland, in the Saint-Gotthard massif, at an altitude of 1753m.
Up to Martigny, the Rhône is a torrent, and then becomes a great mountain river running SW through a glacier valley. Then, it
turns NW to exit the Alps and flows west through Lake Geneva (French Lac Leman) before entering France.
It is joined by the river Saône at Lyon,
before going south.
At Arles, the Rhône divides itself in two arms, forming the Camargue delta, with all branches flowing into the
Mediterranean Sea. One arm is called the "Grand Rhône", the other
one is the "Petit Rhône".
Power & speed
Though not the longest, the Rhône is the fastest and most powerful river in France.
An average of 1800m3/s of water pours into the Mediterranean at its delta. This puts it at number 48 in the world
ranking. However, heavy rain can cause the river to swell to dangerous proportions. For example, the rate was
11,000m3/s at Beaucaire in January 1994.
Along the Rhône
Cities and towns along the river Rhône include:
See also: Rhône (département)
External Links
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