Doubs (river)

For the ancient city, see Dvin (ancient city).

Doubs Dub (German)
The Doubs just before Besançon
Native name	Dubs Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help)
Location
Country	France, Switzerland
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Mouthe, Jura mountains
• coordinates	46°42′17″N 6°12′34″E
• elevation	946 m (3,104 ft)
Mouth
• location	Saône
• coordinates	46°54′3″N 5°1′27″E
• elevation	175 m (574 ft)
Length	453 kilometres (281 mi)
Basin size	7,500 km2 (2,900 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	176 m3/s (6,200 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Saône→ Rhône→ Mediterranean Sea
Tributaries
• left	Loue
• right	Allan
Lakes	Lac de Saint-Point, Lac des Brenets, Lac de Moron

The Doubs (French: [du] ; Arpitan: Dubs; German: Dub) is a 453-kilometre (281 mi) long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, and is left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains, at an altitude of 946 metres (3,104 ft). It is the tenth longest river in France.

Course

From its source in Mouthe it flows northeast, more or less along the French-Swiss border (forming the border for approx. 40 km). Near Montbéliard it turns southwest, until it flows into the river Saône in Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, approx. 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Chalon-sur-Saône. Its entire course resembles an inverted letter U, with the northeastern corner the only point at which the Doubs flows into Switzerland as far as Saint-Ursanne. In Switzerland it traverses the cantons Jura and Neuchâtel.

The waterfall known as the Saut du Doubs is located on the French-Swiss border. The river, which has been dammed up by landslide debris, forms the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) long, but only 200-metre (660 ft) wide, winding Lac des Brenets. The 27-metre (89 ft) high Doubs Falls are located at its end. The falls can be reached on foot or by passenger boat.

The Saut du Doubs

Course of the Doubs

The Doubs flows through the following Departments of France, Cantons of Switzerland, and cities:

• Doubs (F): Pontarlier
• Neuchâtel (CH)
• Jura (CH): Saint-Ursanne
• Doubs (F): Montbéliard, Besançon
• Jura (F): Dole
• Saône-et-Loire (F): Verdun-sur-le-Doubs

Tributaries include:

• Loue
• Dessoubre
• Allan

The river forms several lakes:

• Lac de Saint-Point (elevation 850 m or 2,790 ft) near Pontarlier
• Lac des Brenets (elevation 750 metres or 2,460 feet)
• Lac de Moron (elevation 716 metres or 2,349 feet)
• Lac de Biaufond (elevation 610 metres or 2,000 feet)

The Lac de Brenets

Floods and seasonal variation

The rate of flow of the Doubs is very seasonally variable. The flooding season can stretch from September to May, with floods being occasioned either by heavy rains or by quick melting of snow from the Jura mountains. At its mouth, the discharge rate can vary from as low as 20 cubic metres per second (710 cu ft/s) to over 1,000 cubic metres per second (35,000 cu ft/s) during floods.

In Besançon, the largest floods have been in 1852 (8.5 metres or 27 feet 11 inches), in 1896 (7.96 metres or 26 feet 1 inch) and in 1910. There have also been many lesser floods more recently.

Hydroelectricity

The Dam of Châtelot, completed in 1953

As a mountain river with substantial discharge, the Doubs has been used for electricity generation. Among several hydroelectric stations, the most important are the Dam of Châtelot, 74 metres (243 ft) tall, and the Dam of Refrain, 66.5 metres (218 ft) tall.

In Popular Culture

The Doubs river is mentioned sixteen times in Stendhal's novel The Red and the Black (Le rouge et le noir).

See also

• Nature parks in Switzerland
• January 1910 Doubs river flood

References

• http://www.geoportail.fr
• The Doubs at the Sandre database