Garonne
Map of the Garonne
Origin	Pyrenees 42°36′26″N 0°57′56″E / 42.607295°N 0.965424°E / 42.607295; 0.965424 (source Garonne)
Mouth	Gironde estuary, Atlantic Ocean 45°2′29″N 0°36′24″W / 45.04139°N 0.60667°W / 45.04139; -0.60667 (Gironde-Garonne)Coordinates: 45°2′29″N 0°36′24″W / 45.04139°N 0.60667°W / 45.04139; -0.60667 (Gironde-Garonne)
Basin countries	France, Spain
Length	602 km (374 mi)
Source elevation	2,600 m (8,500 ft)
Basin area	84,811 km2 (32,746 sq mi) * *including Dordogne

The Garonne (French: Garonne, IPA: [ɡaʁɔn]; in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Latin: Garumna^[1] or Garunna) is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 602 km (374 mi).

Geography[link]

Source[link]

150º Panorama of the Aran Valley from the Beret Plateau, showing the Ruda-Garona and Beret-Garona confluence. In Vielha the Garonne turns northward (out of sight), and after 12 km receives water from the Joèu (Pic Aneto).

The Main Lake of Saboredo and Pic de Saboredo, the head of the Garonne valley.

The water from Barrancs and Escaleta ravines disappears into the ground at Forau de Aigualluts

The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the 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 (1,862 m a.s.l.) has been traditionally considered as the source of the Garonne. From this point a brook (called the Beret-Garona) runs for 2.5 km until the bed of the main upper Garonne valley. The river runs for another 38 km until the French border at Pont del Rei (40.5 km in total).

The Ratera-Saboredo cirque is the head of the upper Garonne valley, and its upper lake (2,600 m a.s.l.) is the origin of the Ruda-Garona river, running for 16 km until the confluence with the Beret-Garona brook, and another 38 km until the French border at Pont del Rei (54 km in total). At the confluence, the Ruda-Garona carries 2.6 m3/s of water.^[2][3] The Ratera-Saboredo cirque has been pointed by many researchers as the origin of the Garonne.^{[4][5][6][6][7]}

The third thesis holds that the river rises on the slopes of Pic Aneto, at 2,300 m a.s.l. and flows by way of a sink hole known as the Forau de Aigualluts (42°40′00″N 0°40′01″E / 42.6666°N 0.6669°E / 42.6666; 0.6669) through the limestone of the Tuca Blanca de Pomèro and a resurgence in the Val dera Artiga above the Aran Valley in the Spanish Pyrenees.^[8] This underground route was suggested by the geologist Ramond de Carbonnières in 1787, but there was no confirmation until 1931, when caver Norbert Casteret poured fluorescein dye into the flow and noted its emergence a few hours later 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) away at Uelhs deth Joèu ("Jove's eyes" 42°40′51″N 0°42′28″E / 42.68092°N 0.7077°E / 42.68092; 0.7077) in the Artiga de Lin on the other side of the mountain.^[9][10][11] From Aigualluts to the confluence with the main river at the bed of the upper Garonne valley (800 m a.s.l.), the Joèu has run for 12.4 km (16 more to get to the French border), carrying 2.16 m3/s. of water, while the main river is carrying 17.7 m3/s.^[2][3][12]

Despite the lack of universal agreement upon definition for determining a stream's source, the United States Geological Survey, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution agree that a stream's source should be considered as the most distant point (along watercourses from the river mouth) in the drainage basin from which water runs.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

There is not agreement about the "most distant point (along watercourses from the river mouth) in the drainage basin from which water runs", and the source of the Garonne, according to the United States Geological Survey, the National Geographic Society, and the Smithsonian Institution convention upon determining a stream's source.

Course[link]

The Garonne follows the Aran Valley northwards into France, flowing via Toulouse and Agen towards Bordeaux, where it meets the Gironde estuary. The Gironde flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay). Along its course, the Garonne is joined by three other major rivers: the Ariège, the Tarn, and the Lot. Just after Bordeaux, the Garonne river finally meets the Dordogne River, forming the Gironde estuary, which after approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Other tributaries include the Save and the Gers.

The Garonne is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore.^[18][19][20] Surfers and jet skiers could ride the tidal bore at least as far as the village of Cambes, 120 kilometres or 75 miles from the Atlantic and even further upstream, although the tidal bore appears and disappears in response to changes in the channel bathymmetry. In 2010, a detailed field study was conducted in the Garonne River (France) in the Arcins channel between Arcins Island and the right bank close to Lastrene township.^[18] A striking feature of the present field data set was the large and rapid fluctuations in turbulent velocities and turbulent stresses during the tidal bore and flood flow.^[19][20]

Towns along the river[link]

The Garonne at Toulouse.

• Aran Valley (Spain): Vielha
• Haute-Garonne (31): Saint-Gaudens, Muret, Toulouse
• Tarn-et-Garonne (82): Castelsarrasin
• Lot-et-Garonne (47): Agen, Marmande
• Gironde(33): Langon, Bordeaux, Blaye, Le Verdon-sur-Mer
• Charente-Maritime (17): Royan

Main tributaries[link]

Following the flow of the river:

Navigation[link]

The Garonne plays an important role in inland shipping. The river not only allows seagoing vessels to reach the port of Bordeaux but also forms part of the "Canal des Deux Mers", linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing a shorter and safer way for goods to pass from the agricultural areas of the South of France to the Atlantic.

From the ocean, ships pass through the Gironde estuary until the mouth of the Garonne (to the right of the Dordogne when sailing upstream). The Garonne remains navigable for larger vessels up to the "Pont de Pierre" (Stone Bridge) in Bordeaux. River vessels can sail upstream to Castets-en-Dorthe, where the Garonne Lateral Canal (Canal Latéral à la Garonne) joins the river.

Prior to the building of the Garonne Lateral Canal, constructed between 1838 and 1856, river shipping used the Garonne itself as far as Toulouse. However the navigation of the upper river was very uncertain, and this stretch of the river is no longer considered navigable. Instead the lateral canal takes the ships through 53 locks to the town of Toulouse, where the canal meets the Canal du Midi, the next stage of the "Canal des Deux Mers".^[21]

The Garonne Lateral Canal was subject to one of the largest infrastructure works in Europe, when it was adapted to the standardized barge size of 38 by 5 metres (16 ft), during the last century. French minister Freycinet ordered that all major canals used for long distance transport be suitable for vessels of those standard dimensions. The extension of all of the former 30-metre (98 ft) locks to the new standard length was carried out throughout the lateral canal. The other half of the Canal des Deux Mers, the Canal du Midi, partly escaped this operation, because by the time the works had reached the area where the most locks were situated, commercial traffic on the canal had almost disappeared. The works were stopped, leading to the cultural heritage status of the United Nations that has made the Canal du Midi famous. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways database)

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garonne

• List of rivers of Europe

References[link]

External links[link]

• French Waterways - River Garonne Information on the navigable lower Garonne
• History and real-time water heights of Garonne river and main tributaries

Nicole Croisille (born 9 October 1936 in Neuilly-sur-Seine), is a French singer and actress. She has appeared in 24 films between 1961 and 2005 and recorded albums since 1961. Croisille made an attempt to represent France in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Tu m'avais dit," but was not selected.

External links[link]

• Nicole Croisille at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a film actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Claude Nougaro
At the Paris Jazz Festival, June 2003
Background information
Born	(1929-09-09)9 September 1929 Toulouse, France
Died	4 March 2004(2004-03-04) (aged 74) Paris, France
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Singer, painter, poet
Website	www.nougaro.com

Claude Nougaro (9 September 1929–4 March 2004) was a French songwriter and singer.

Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse to a respected French opera singer, Pierre Nougaro, and an Italian piano teacher, Liette Tellini. He was raised by his grandparents in Toulouse where he heard Glenn Miller, Édith Piaf and Louis Armstrong (among others) on the radio. In 1947 he failed his baccalaureat and began a career in journalism, writing for various journals including Le Journal des Curistes at Vichy and L'Echo d'Alger. At the same time he wrote songs for Marcel Amont ("Le barbier de Belleville", "Le balayeur du roi") and Philippe Clay ("Joseph", "La sentinelle"). He met Georges Brassens, who became his friend and mentor.

In 1949 he performed his military service in the Foreign Legion at Rabat, Morocco.

He sent his lyrics to Marguerite Monnot, Édith Piaf's songwriter, who put them to music. ("Méphisto", "Le Sentier de la guerre"). He started to sing for a livelihood in 1959 in a Parisian cabaret in Montmartre, the Lapin Agile.

In 1962, he decided to sing his works himself: "Une petite fille" and "Cécile ma fille" (dedicated to his daughter, born in 1962, and to his wife Sylvie, whom he met at the Lapin agile). These songs made him immediately known to the larger public, which he had already started to penetrate by participating in the concerts of Dalida. A car accident immobilised him for several months in 1963. The following year he travelled to Brazil, and sang in prestigious halls in Paris: the Olympia, the Palais, the Théâtre de la Ville. Following the death of his friend Jacques Audiberti in 1965 he wrote, in homage, the song "Chanson pour le maçon". The events of May 1968 inspired him to the torrential "Paris Mai", a plea for life, which would be banned from the airwaves. The same year he recorded his first live album at the Olympia: Une soirée avec Claude Nougaro.

His career continued normally, punctuated by success: Le jazz et la java, Tu verras, Île de Ré, Armstrong, Toulouse, Petit taureau. But in 1984, his recording company did not renew his contract. Nougaro left for New York, seeking inspiration, and while there wrote and recorded a self-financed disc, Nougayork, whose resounding success was a surprise. In 1988 Victoires de la musique rewarded him with best album and best artist, and between 1993 and 1997 he released three new albums.

His health deteriorated after 1995, when he underwent a heart operation. In 2003, his condition left him unable to appear at the festival du Verbe at Toulouse. From 1998 to 2004 he devoted himself more to concerts and festivals, apart from an album in aid of children suffering from AIDS. Having undergone further surgery in early 2004, he died of cancer in March, 74 years old.

Selected discography[link]

• Locomotive d'or (1973)
• Au new morning (1982)
• Nougayork (1987)
• Une voix dix doigts (1991)
• L'Enfant-phare (1997)

Writings[link]

• L'ivre de mots (2002)
• Fables de ma fontaine (2003)