The 10 longest rivers of France

What is the longest river in France? This is a ranking of the longest rivers that snake through the Hexagon!

France has thousands of rivers that flow through cities and villages, offering us typical landscapes of our beautiful country with old bridges, terraces by the water or impressive castles overlooking the valley. Almost all French departments derive their name from the rivers and rivers that cross them. But our ranking of the day leads us to wonder what the longest rivers in France are.

10. Vilaine

This ranking begins with the Vilaine, which, 218 km long, arrives in the tenth position of the country's longest rivers. Its source is located exactly at the Place-Dit de la Source in Juvigné, Mayenne, and flows to the Atlantic Ocean at the level of the city of Muzillac.

Length : 218 km Basin area 10 500 km2 Debit 80 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Mayenne, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan

9. Somme

La Somme is this river in the north of France that runs through only two French departments, the Somme and the Aisne. Taking his source to Fonsomme in the Aisne, at an altitude of 86 metres, his course ended in the Channel at the Bay of Somme. Long of 245 km, it is thus part of the 10 longest French rivers.

Length : 245 km Basin area 6 550 km2 Debit 35 m3/s Pack : Channel Departments : Aisne, Somme

8. Adour

As for many large French rivers, the Adour flows into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Bayonne. The length of this Basque river was measured at 308 km, making the Adour the eighth river of France.

Length 308 km Basin area 16 912 km2 Debit 350 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Gers, Landes, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées

7. Charente

Charente is a river measuring 381 km long. It takes its source to Chéronnac in Upper Vienna, at 295 meters above sea level and its waters flow into the Atlantic Ocean near the city of Port-des-Barques.

Length : 381.4 km Basin area 9 855 km2 Debit 49 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Charente, Charente-Maritime, Vienne, Haute-Vienne

6. Dordogne

The Dordogne takes its source at the Puy de Sancy, in the Massif Central, at 1366 m above sea level, and then runs on 483 km, to finish in the Estuary of the Gironde.

Length : 483 km Basin area 23 957 km2 Debit : 380 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Puy-de-Dôme, Corrèze, Cantal, Lot, Dordogne, Gironde

5. Meuse

A total of 950 km long, of which only half in France (486 km), the Meuse takes its source in the Bassigny (Haute-Marne), at an altitude of 409 m, and flows into the North Sea after crossing the river Belgium and Netherlands . The fifth longest river in France is also considered to be the oldest river in the world because it was formed in the Paleozoic era.

Length 486 km Basin area 36,000 km2 Debit 357 m3/s Pack : North Sea Departments : Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meuse, Ardennes

4. Garonne

Taking its source Spain In two different locations (in Pla de Beret, 1860 metres above sea level, Val d’Aran and Pic d’Aneto, Aragon), the Garonne runs on 647 km, of which 521.9 km in France. It was in Gironde, in the Atlantic, that the Garonne finished its race.

Length 521.9 km Basin area 55 000 km2 Debit 650 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gironde

3. Rhône

The Rhone is 812 km, but only 545 km on French soil, making it the third longest river in France. It takes its source in the Rhone Glacier, in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. Crossing it Lake Geneva , it continues to the Bouches-du-Rhône where it finally flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

Length 545 km Basin area 95 590 km2 Debit 1,690 m3/s Pack : Mediterranean Sea Departments : Ain, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Rhône, Drôme, Loire, Ardèche, Gard, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône

2. Seine

The Seine is the second longest river in France. It takes its source on the plateau of Langres at 446 meters above sea level, in the department of the Côte d’or. Famous to cross Paris At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, it is also for the low decilivity of the valley, which explains the high sinuosity of its course. Long 777 km, she goes into the Channel at Le Havre.

Length 777 km Basin area 79,000 km2 Debit 563 m3/s Pack : Channel Departments : Côte d’Or, Aube, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Essonne, Val-de-Marne, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-St-Denis, Val d’Oise, Yvelynes, Eure, Seine-Maritime, Calvados

1. Loire

The Loire is the longest river in France with a length of 1012 km. Found her source on the Mont de Gerbier de Jonc en Ardèche, she finished her race in the Atlantic Ocean, in the estuary of Saint-Nazaire. At this level, its flow rate is 1000 m3/s. The Loire is famous for the castles that border it between Blois and Nantes .

Length 1 012 km Basin area : 117 356 km2 Debit 931 m3/s Pack : Atlantic Ocean Departments : Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Allier, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre, Loiret, Cher, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique

The Loire, although it is the longest French river, only arrives in the twelfth position of the longer European rivers .