The Rhone (French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in: Rhône; Arpitan Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand (in Switzerland) (Vernacular: francoprovençâl, arpetan, patoué; Italian: francoprovenzale, arpitano; French: francoprovençal, arpitan, patois) is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was: Rôno; Occitan Occitan is a Romance language spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain. It is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese . It is a co-official language in Catalonia, Spain (known as Aranese in Aran Valley). Modern Occitan is the closest relative of Catalan: Ròse; standard German German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers: Rhone; Valais The Valais (French pronunciation: [valɛ]; German: Wallis, German pronunciation: [ˈvalɪs] ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in German: Rotten; Italian Italian ( italiano , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken as a native language by about 62 million people in Italy, San Marino and parts of Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and France. It is spoken as a first language by many Italian citizens and immigrants abroad, for a total of approximately 70 million native speakers. In addition, it: Rodano) is one of the major rivers A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill; there is no of Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the, originating in Switzerland Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation (Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe[note 4] where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to and running from there through the south-eastern corner of France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian,. At Arles Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence, near its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone (French: Grand Rhône) and the Little Rhone (Petit Rhône).

Contents

Navigation

Before railroads and highways were invented, the Rhone was an important inland trade and transportation route, connecting the cities of Arles Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence, Avignon Avignon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in southeastern France, Valence Valence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles (105 km) south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Its inhabitants are called Valentinois or the Valentinoises. Valence was a part of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History and the city received four, Vienne Vienne is a commune in southeastern France, located 20 miles south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. It is the second largest city after Grenoble in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture. The city's population was of 29,400 as of the 2001 census and Lyon Lyon (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃] ; Arpitan: Liyon, IPA: [ʎjɔ̃]; English: /liːˈɒn/ or anglicized as Lyons /ˈlaɪ.ənz/), is a city in east-central France in the region Rhône-Alpes, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at 470 km (292 mi) from Paris, 320 km (199 mi) from Marseille, 160 km (99 mi) from Geneva, 280 km (174 to the Mediterranean ports of Fos Fos-sur-Mer is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, Marseille Marseille , formerly known as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία), its second most-populous, behind Paris, with 852,395 residents as of 2007. It forms the third-largest urban area after those of Paris and Lyon with a population of 1,420,000 and the third-largest metropolitan area, also after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population of 1,530,0 and Sète. Travelling down the Rhone by barge would take three weeks. By motorized vessel, the trip now takes only three days. The Rhône is classified as a class V waterway[1] from the mouth of the Saône river The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon to the sea. The Saône, which is also canalized, connects the Rhône ports to the cities of Villefranche-sur-Saône, Mâcon Mâcon is a commune of France and prefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department, in the region of Bourgogne. It is the capital of the Mâconnais district. Inhabitants of Mâcon are called Mâconnais and Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. 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 The Seine is a slow-flowing major river and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie in France and famous as a romantic backdrop in photographs of Paris, France. It is also a tourist attraction, with excursion boats offering sightseeing tours of the Rive Droite and Rive Gauche within the city of Paris. It, via the Canal de la Marne à la Saône (recently often called the "Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne") to the Marne The Marne is a river in France, a right tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is 514 kilometres long. The river gave its name to the départements of Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne, via the Canal des Vosges (formerly called the "Canal de l'Est – Branche Sud") to the Moselle The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our and via the Canal du Rhône au Rhin to the Rhine The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at about 1,232 km (766 mi), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 m3/s (71,000 cu ft/s).

The Rhone is infamous for its strong current when the river carries large quantities of water: current speeds up to 10 kilometres per hour (6 mph) are sometimes reached, particularly in the stretch below the last lock at Valabrègues and in some of the diversion canals. The ten river locks are operated daily from 05:00 a.m. until 09:00 p.m. Night operation can be requested and is usually granted [2].

Course

It rises as the effluent of the Rhone Glacier in Valais The Valais (French pronunciation: [valɛ]; German: Wallis, German pronunciation: [ˈvalɪs] ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in, in the Swiss Alps The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps, at an altitude of approximately 2,150 metres (7,100 ft).[3]

Up to Brig, the Rhone is a torrent, and then becomes a great mountain river running SW through a glacier valley. Between Brig and Martigny, it collects waters mostly from the valleys of the Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy (Piedmont and the Aosta Valley). The Col Ferret separates them from the Mont Blanc Massif; the Dora Baltea valley separates them from the Graian Alps; the Simplon Pass separates them from the Lepontine Alps; the Rhône valley on the south, whose rivers originate from the large glaciers of the massifs of Monte Rosa, Dom, and Grand Combin The Grand Combin is a mountain in the western Pennine Alps in Switzerland. With its 4,314 metres high summit it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and the second most prominent of its range. The Grand Combin is also a large glaciated massif consisting of several summits, among which three are above 4000 metres.

After Martigny, the river turns NW towards Lake Geneva Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is the largest natural freshwater lake in western Europe (582 km²). In addition it is the largest body of freshwater in continental Europe in term of volume (89 km³). Sixty percent of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais), and 40% under France (Haute-Savoie). The average (French Lac Léman) and separates the Chablais Alps from the Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Fribourg and Vaud. The latter being informally named Fribourg. It enters Lake Geneva near the Swiss town of Bouveret and exits it at the city of Geneva Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf Genf , Italian: Ginevra, Romansh: Genevra) is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandie (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). Situated where the Rhône River exits Lake Geneva (in French also known as Lac Léman), it is the capital of the before entering France. The average annual discharge from Lake Geneva is 570 m3/s A cubic metre per second is a derived SI unit of flow rate equal to that of a cube with sides of one metre (~39.37 in) in length exchanged or moving each second. It is popularly used for water flow, especially in rivers and streams, and fractions for HVAC values measuring air flow (20,000 cu ft/s).[4]

It is joined by the river Saône The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon at Lyon Lyon (French pronunciation: [ljɔ̃] ; Arpitan: Liyon, IPA: [ʎjɔ̃]; English: /liːˈɒn/ or anglicized as Lyons /ˈlaɪ.ənz/), is a city in east-central France in the region Rhône-Alpes, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at 470 km (292 mi) from Paris, 320 km (199 mi) from Marseille, 160 km (99 mi) from Geneva, 280 km (174, before going south. Along the Rhone Valley, it is joined on the right (western) bank by the rivers Eyrieux, Ardèche, Cèze, and Gardon The Gardon or Gard is a river in southern France. It is the namesake of the Gard département coming from the Cévennes mountains The Cévennes are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements of Gard, Lozère, Ardèche, and Haute-Loire; and on the left bank by the rivers Isère The Isère is a 286 km long river in southeastern France, in the Rhône-Alpes région. Its source is in the Alps on the border with Italy, near the ski resort Val d'Isère. It flows into the Rhône River in Pont-de-l'Isère, a few km north of Valence. Its upper valley is called Tarentaise, Drôme, Ouvèze The Ouvèze is river in southern France, left tributary of the Rhône. It rises in the southern French Prealps , in the commune of Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze. It flows into the Rhône in Sorgues, north of Avignon, and Durance The Durance is a major river in south-eastern France from the Alps The Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west.

At Arles Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence, the Rhone divides itself in two arms, forming the Camargue The Camargue is located south of Arles, France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône River delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western one is the Petit Rhône delta A delta is a landform that is created at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river. Over long periods of time, this deposition builds the, with all branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate. The larger arm is called the "Grand Rhône", the smaller the "Petit Rhône". The average annual discharge at Arles is 2,300 m3/s A cubic metre per second is a derived SI unit of flow rate equal to that of a cube with sides of one metre (~39.37 in) in length exchanged or moving each second. It is popularly used for water flow, especially in rivers and streams, and fractions for HVAC values measuring air flow (81,000 cu ft/s).[4]

History

Mouth of the Rhone

The Rhone has been an important highway since the times of the Greeks Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian and Romans 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. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world. It was the main trade route from the Mediterranean to east-central Gaul Gaul is a historical name used in the context of Ancient Rome in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine.[5] As such, it helped convey Greek cultural influences to the western Hallstatt and the later La Tène cultures.[5] Celtic tribes living near the Rhone included the Seduni, Segobriges, Allobroges, Segusiavi, Helvetii, Vocontii and Volcae Arecomici.[5]

Navigation was difficult, as the river suffered from fierce currents, shallows, floods in spring and early summer when the ice was melting, and droughts in late summer. 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 protection against the hazards of the journey.[6]

Trade on the upper river used barques du Rhône, sailing barges, 30 by 3.5 metres (98 by 11 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 transshipped 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. Regular services were not started until 1829 and they continued until 1952. 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 by 6.35 metres (520 by 21 ft) with paddle wheels amidships, and bateaux crabes, a huge toothed 'claw' wheel 6.5 metres (21 ft) across to grip the river bed in the shallows to supplement the paddle 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 was made in deepening the navigation channel and constructing scouring walls, but World War II brought such work to a halt. 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.

In 1948, the government started construction on a series of locked barrages and canal cuts, to improve navigation and generate 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.

Etymology

Starry Night Over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh (1888)

The word "Rhone" comes from Latin Rhodanus, which itself comes from Greek Ῥοδανός Rhodanos, the Greek rendering of the Gaulish (Celtic) name of the river, as heard by Greeks' living in the colony of Massalia (Marseille). The Celtic name of the river was something like Rodonos or Rotonos (Great River) (-onos/-ona is a suffix meaning Great). Rodo/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 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 (in some dialects ruth or ruith, Scottish ruith/rith and Welsh rhedeg, both meaning "to run", as well as the Gaelic noun roth wheel.

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. It would then be only 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.

Along the Rhone

Cities and towns along the Rhone include:

The Rhône Glacier above Oberwald, Switzerland is the source of the river. The Rhone (left) meets the Arve River in Geneva, Switzerland.

Switzerland

France

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ "Classification of waterways". http://www.bureauvoorlichtingbinnenvaart.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=36.
  2. ^ NoorderSoft Waterways Database
  3. ^ Swisstopo
  4. ^ a b The Rhône River: Hydromorphological and ecological rehabilitation of a heavily man-used hydrosystem
  5. ^ a b c Freeman, Philip. John T. Koch. ed. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. I. ABC-CLIO. pp. 901. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
  6. ^ McKnight, Hugh (September 2005). Cruising French Waterways (4th ed. ed.). Sheridan House. ISBN 978-1574092103.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rhône River

Categories: Rivers of Switzerland | Rivers of France | International rivers of Europe | Rhone basin | Ain | Bouches-du-Rhône | Drôme | Gard | Haute-Savoie | Isère | Rhône (department)

 

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