Vienne River

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

The Vienne is one of the most important rivers in south-western France, a significant left tributary of the lower Loire. It supports numerous hydro-electric dams, and it is the main river of the Limousin region and also of the eastern part of the Poitou-Charentes region.

Two French départements are named after the Vienne river: the Haute-Vienne (87) in the Limousin region and the Vienne (86) in the Poitou-Charentes region.

Course

The Vienne rises as a spring in the department of the Corrèze, at the foot of Mont Audouze, on the Plateau de Millevaches, near Peyrelevade. It then flows roughly west to the city of Limoges where it once played a major role in the famous Limoges porcelain industry. A little way after Limoges it takes a turn to the north. En route to its confluence with the Loire, the Vienne is joined by the rivers Creuse and Clain. Finally, after a journey of approximately 390km it reaches the Loire at Candes-Saint-Martin in the department of Indre-et-Loire.

The Vienne flows through the following départements and towns:

• Corrèze: Peyrelevade
• Creuse
• Haute-Vienne: Eymoutiers, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, Limoges, Aixe-sur-Vienne, Saint-Junien
• Charente: Chabanais, Confolens
• Vienne: L'Isle-Jourdain, Lussac-les-Châteaux, Chauvigny, Châtellerault
• Indre-et-Loire: L'Île-Bouchard, Chinon

Tributaries include:

• The Creuse, which joins the Vienne north of Châtellerault
• The Clain, which flows through the city of Poitiers, and joins the Vienne in Châtellerault.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday February 07, 2008 at 15:33:20 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation