Garonne

The Garonne (French: Garonne, IPA: [ɡa.ʁɔn]; in Occitan, Catalan, Portuguese and Spanish: Garona; Latin: Garumna or Garunna) is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 602 kilometres (374 mi). It flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Bordeaux.

Geography

Sources

The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Spanish Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret (42°42′34″N 0°56′43″E / 42.709494°N 0.945398°E / 42.709494; 0.945398), the Ratera-Saboredo cirque 42°36′26″N 0°57′56″E / 42.607295°N 0.965424°E / 42.607295; 0.965424), or the slopes of Pic Aneto (Salterillo-Barrancs ravine 42°38′59″N 0°40′06″E / 42.6498°N 0.6683°E / 42.6498; 0.6683 according to the season).

The Uelh deth Garona at 1,862 metres (6,109 ft) above sea level has been traditionally considered as the source of the Garonne. From this point a brook (called the Beret-Garona) runs for 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) until the bed of the main upper Garonne valley. The river runs for another 38 kilometres (24 mi) until the French border at Pont de Rei, 40.5 kilometres (25.2 mi) in total.