Rhone River View over the Rhone flowing from Valais towards Lake Geneva Countries Switzerland, France Source Rhone Glacier Mouth Mediterranean Sea  - elevation 0 m (0 ft) Length 813 km (505 mi) Area 54 km² (21 sq mi) Discharge  - average 2,300 m³/s (81,224 cu ft/s)

The Rhone, or the Rhône^[1] is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. The Valais ( German:) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (Lac Léman Léman Lac de Genève is the second largest freshwater Lake in Central Europe in terms of surface area (after Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Rhône Glacier is the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Navigation

Before railroads and highways were invented, the Rhone was an important inland trade and transportation route, connecting the cities of Arles, Avignon, Valence, Vienne and Lyon to the Mediterranean ports of Fos, Marseille and Sète. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune This article is about the French department Do not confuse with the Austrian capital Vienna. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Sète ( Seta in Occitan) is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France Before this, travelling down the Rhone by barge would take 3 weeks - it now only takes 3 days. The Rhône is classified as a class V waterway^[2] from the mouth of the Saône river to the sea. The Saône (son ( Sona in Arpitan) is a River of eastern France. The Saône, which is also canalized, connects the Rhône ports to the cities of Villefranche, Macon and Chalons. Smaller vessels (up to CEMT class I) can travel further northwest, north and northeast via the Centre-Loire-Briare and Loing Canals to the Seine river, via the Canal de la Marne à la Saône (recently often called the "Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne") to the Marne, via the Canal des Vosges (formerly called the "Canal de l'Est - Branche Sud") to the Moselle and via the Canal du Rhône au Rhin to the Rhine. The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the Marne River which flows through the department Moselle is a ''département'' in the east of France named after the Moselle River. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge

The Rhone is infamous for its strong current when the river carries large quantities of water: current speeds up to 10 kilometers per hour (6 mph) are sometimes reached, particularly in the stretch below the last lock at Valabrègues and in some of the diversion canals. Vallabrègues is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. The ten river locks are operated daily from 05:00 a. m. till 09:00 p. m. , but night operation can be requested and is usually granted ^[3].

Course

It rises as the effluent of the Rhone Glacier in Valais, Switzerland, in the Saint-Gotthard massif, at an altitude of 1,753 metres (5,750 ft). The Rhône Glacier is the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in The Valais ( German:) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its

Up to Brig, the Rhone is a torrent, and then becomes a great mountain river running SW through a glacier valley. Brig (Brigue Briga is the capital of the municipality of Brig-Glis in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland Then, at Martigny it turns NW towards Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman). Martigny ( German Martinach, Latin Octodurum, sometimes also Octodure in French) is the capital of the French Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (Lac Léman Léman Lac de Genève is the second largest freshwater Lake in Central Europe in terms of surface area (after It enters Lake Geneva near the Swiss town of Bouveret and exits it at the city of Geneva before entering France. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The average annual discharge from Lake Geneva is 570 cubic metres per second (20,000 ft³/s) (^[4]. A cubic metre per second ( m3·s&minus1, m3/s, cumecs or cubic meter per second in American English A cubic foot per second (also cfs, cu ft/s, cusec and ft³/s) is an Imperial unit / U

It is joined by the river Saône at Lyon, before going south. The Saône (son ( Sona in Arpitan) is a River of eastern France. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Along the Rhone Valley, it is joined on the right (western) bank by the rivers Eyrieux, Ardèche, Cèze and Gardon coming from the Cévennes mountains, and on the left bank by the rivers Isère, Drôme, Ouvèze and Durance from the Alps. The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône river valley and produces numerous wines under various Appellation d'origine contrôlée The Eyrieux River is a tributary of the Rhône River in Europe. The Ardèche ( Occitan: Ardecha) is a 125 km long River in south-central France, right tributary of the Rhône River. The Gardon or Gard ( Occitan and French: Gardon Gard) is a River in southern France. The Cévennes are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements ' of Gard, Lozère, Ardèche The Isère ( Isera in Arpitan and Occitan) is a 286 km long River in southeastern France, in the Rhône-Alpes The Drôme ( Occitan: Droma) is a 110 km long river in southeastern France, left tributary of the Rhône River. The Ouvèze is River in southern France, left tributary of the Rhône. The Durance ( Occitan: Durença in classical norm or Durènço in Mistralian norm is a 324 km long River in south-eastern France,

At Arles, the Rhone divides itself in two arms, forming the Camargue delta, with all branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France, The Camargue ( Occitan: Camarga in classical norm or Camargo in Mistralian norm is located south of Arles, France, between the A delta is a Landform where the mouth of a River flows into an Ocean, Sea, Estuary, Lake or another river One arm is called the "Grand Rhône", the other one is the "Petit Rhône". The average annual discharge at Arles is 2,300 m³/s (81,000 ft³⁾/s)^[4].

History

The Rhone has been an important highway since the times of the Greeks and Romans, but it was a difficult navigation, suffering from fierce currents, shallows, floods in spring and early summer when the ice was melting and droughts in late summer. Starry Night over the Rhone (September 1888) is one of Vincent van Gogh 's paintings of Arles at night it was painted at a spot on the banks The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Until the 19th century passengers travelled in coches d'eau (water coaches) drawn by men or horses or under sail. Most travelled with a painted cross covered with religious symbols as a protection against the hazards of the journey. ^[5]

Trade on the upper river used barques du Rhône, sailing barges, 30 metres by 3. 5 metres (100 ft x 10 ft), with a 75-tonne (170,000 lb) capacity. As many as 50 to 80 horses were employed to haul trains of 5 to 7 craft upstream. Goods would be transhipped at Arles into 23-metre (75 ft) sailing barges called allèges d'Arles for the final run down to the Mediterranean.

The first experimental steam boat was built at Lyon by Jouffroy d'Abbans in 1783, but regular services were not started until 1829 and continued till 1952. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller Steam passenger vessels 80 to 100 metres (260–330 ft) long made up to 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) and could do the downstream run from Lyon to Arles in a day. Cargo was hauled in bateau-anguilles, boats 157 metres by 6. 35 metres (520 ft x 21 ft) with paddle wheels amidships and bateaux crabes where a huge toothed 'claw' wheel 6. 5 metres (21 ft) across which gripped the river bed in the shallows supplemented the paddles wheels. In the 20th century powerful motor barges propelled by diesel engines were introduced, carrying 1,500 tonnes (3,300,000 lb).

In 1933 the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) was established to tame the river. Some progress in deepening the navigation channel and constructing scouring walls but World War II brought this to a halt. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In 1942, following the collapse of Vichy France, Italian military forces occupied southeastern France up to the eastern banks of the Rhône, as part of the Italian Fascist regime's expansionist agenda. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 In 1948 construction started on a series of locked barrages and canal cuts with the joint aim of improving navigation and generating electricity, with locks raising boats up to 23 metres (75 ft). About 1/13 of France's electricity supply is now provided by these power stations.

Origin of the name

The word "Rhone" comes from Latin Rhodanus, which itself comes from Greek Ῥοδανός (Rhodanos), which is the Greek rendering of the Gaulish (Celtic) name of the river, as heard by the Greeks living in the colony of Massalia (Marseille). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ The Celtic name of the river, something like Rodo or Roto, literally "that which rolls", or "that which runs", is a frequent name of rivers in the ancient Celtic tongue. It was also the name of the lower Seine River, as well as several other rivers of western Europe. The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie This Celtic name comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *ret- ("to run, roll"), which gave the word rota ("wheel") in Latin, from which is derived "rotate" and "to roll" in English. Cognates in modern Celtic languages are Irish rith and Welsh rhedeg, both meaning "to run". Cognates in Linguistics are words that have a common origin They may occur within a language such as shirt and skirt as two English words descended from Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic

Some scholars posit that the root rot- or rod- found in the name "Rhone" as well as in the name of many western European rivers, and whose original meaning seems to be "river", is in fact Pre-Indo-European, in which case it would only be a coincidence that it resembles the Proto-Celtic verb reto ("to run"). Further research is needed to decide between these two theories.

In French, the adjective derived from the river is rhodanien, as in le sillon rhodanien (literally "the furrow of the Rhone"), which is the name of the long straight Saône and Rhone rivers valley, a deep cleft running due south to the Mediterranean and separating the Alps from the Massif Central. The Saône (son ( Sona in Arpitan) is a River of eastern France. The Massif Central ( Occitan: Massís Central / Massís Centrau) is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of Mountains and

Along the Rhone

Cities and towns along the Rhone include:

Switzerland

• Brig (Valais)
• Visp (Valais)
• Sion (Valais)
• Martigny, Switzerland (Valais)
• see Lake Geneva for a list of Swiss and French towns around the lake
• Geneva (Geneva)

France

• Lyon, (Rhône (département))
• Vienne (Isère)
• Tournon-sur-Rhône (Ardèche) opposite Tain-l'Hermitage (Drôme)
• Valence (Drôme) opposite Saint-Péray and Guilherand-Granges (Ardèche)
• Montélimar (Drôme) opposite Le Teil and Rochemaure (Ardèche)
• Viviers (Ardèche)
• Bourg-Saint-Andéol (Ardèche)
• Pont-Saint-Esprit (Gard)
• Roquemaure (Gard)
• Avignon (Vaucluse) (opposite Villeneuve-lès-Avignon) (Gard)
  

  The Rhone in Avignon, France. Brig (Brigue Briga is the capital of the municipality of Brig-Glis in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland The Valais ( German:) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its Visp ( French Viège) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Sion ( German Sitten, Latin Sedunum) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. Martigny ( German Martinach, Latin Octodurum, sometimes also Octodure in French) is the capital of the French Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (Lac Léman Léman Lac de Genève is the second largest freshwater Lake in Central Europe in terms of surface area (after Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The Canton of Geneva is the westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France and centered around the city of Geneva ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Rhône ( Franco-Provençal: Rôno) is a French department located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes. Vienne is a commune in east central France, located 20 miles south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. Isère ( Arpitan: Isera, Occitan: Isèra) is a department, in the Rhône-Alpes ( Rôno-Arpes in Arpitan Tournon-sur-Rhône is a commune in the Ardèche department in southeastern France. Ardèche ( Occitan and Arpitan: Ardecha) is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River. Tain-l'Hermitage is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Valence ( Occitan Valença) is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated Saint-Péray is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. Guilherand-Granges is a commune in the Ardèche department in southeastern France. Montélimar ( Latin name Acumum and Montelaimar in Occitan) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern Le Teil is a commune in the Ardèche department in southeastern France. Rochemaure is a commune in the Ardèche département in southern France. Viviers (also Viviers-sur-Rhône) is a commune in the département of Ardèche in southern France. Bourg-Saint-Andéol is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône Valley in southern France. Pont-Saint-Esprit ( Occitan Lo Pònt Sant Esperit) is a commune in the Gard departement in southern France. Gard ( Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region Roquemaure is a commune in the department of Gard in southern France. Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune The Vaucluse ( Provençal Occitan: Vauclusa in classical norm or Vau-Cluso in Mistralian norm is a department in the southeast of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Avignon (/aviɲɔ̃/ in French) ( Provençal: Avinhon in classical norm or Avignoun in Mistralian norm is a commune This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
• Beaucaire (Gard) opposite Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône)
• Vallabrègues (Gard)
• Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône)

See also

• Rhône (département)
• Rhône (wine region)

References and notes

External links

• Waterways in France
• CNR

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