Orne (river)
| Orne | |
|---|---|
 The Orne in Caen | |
   | |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Aunou-sur-Orne |
| • elevation | 240 m (790 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | English Channel |
• coordinates | 49°16′42″N 0°13′34″W / 49.27833°N 0.22611°W |
| Length | 170 km (110 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,932 km2 (1,132 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 27.5 m3/s (970 cu ft/s) |
The Orne (French: [ɔʁn] ⓘ) is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is 170 km (110 mi) long.[1] It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre.
Geography
[edit]The Orne flows through the following departments and towns:
- Orne (named after the river): Sées, Argentan
- Calvados: Thury-Harcourt, Saint-André-sur-Orne, Caen, Ouistreham
It also flows through the areas known as Suisse Normande and the Plaine d'Argentan.[2][3]
Its longest tributaries are, from source to mouth:[1]
Lac de Rabodanges
[edit]In 1960 a dam at Rabodanges in Putanges-le-Lac was built by along the course of the Orne.[4] The dam created a 6 km artificial lake covering almost 240 acres, making it the largest lake in Lower Normandy.[5] The lake is now a popular tourist destination and had a designated swimming area opened in August 2022.[6]
Name
[edit]The name of the Orne in Normandy, which is referred to as the Olinas by Ptolemy,[7] is a homonym of Fluvius Olne, the Orne saosnoise in Sarthe, which Xavier Delamarre traces back to the Celtic olīnā (elbow).
Hydrology and water quality
[edit]The waters of the Orne are typically moderately turbid and brown in colour. Its pH level has been measured at 8.5[8] at the town of St. Andre sur Orne where summer water temperatures approximate 18 °C (64 °F). Electrical conductivity of the water has been measured at 30 microsiemens per centimeter.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - L'Orne (I2--0200)".
- ^ "An active weekend in Suisse Normande - Explore France".
- ^ "Normandie Développement Durable" (PDF). 2005-03-15. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
- ^ "Lac de Rabodanges". www.office-tourisme-putanges.com.
- ^ "Lac de Rabodanges PUTANGES-LE-LAC : Normandy Tourism". en.normandie-tourisme.fr.
- ^ "Putanges-le-Lac. La baignade au lac de Rabodanges est lancée pour sa première saison". www.ouest-france.fr.
- ^
Smith, William, ed. (1857). "Olinas". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 473–474.
- ^ Hogan, C Michael, Water quality of freshwater bodies in France, Lumina Press, Aberdeen 2006.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Orne River (Northwestern France) at Wikimedia Commons
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