Title: Durance Content: The Durance  is a river in southeastern France, a left tributary of the Rhône river. It is the longest river in Metropolitan France without a department named after it. ==Geography== The Durance river has a length of and a drainage basin with an area of approximately . Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance in the Bouches-du-Rhône department at an altitude of , for a period of 95 years. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:400 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:Jan text:Jan. bar:Feb text:Feb. bar:Mar text:Mar. bar:Apr text:Apr. bar:May text:May bar:Jun text:Jun. bar:Jul text:Jul. bar:Aug text:Aug. bar:Sep text:Sep. bar:Oct text:Oct. bar:Nov text:Nov. bar:Dec text:Dec. PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:Jan from:0 till: 142.0 bar:Feb from:0 till: 143.0 bar:Mar from:0 till: 178.0 bar:Apr from:0 till: 228.0 bar:May from:0 till: 315.0 bar:Jun from:0 till: 292.0 bar:Jul from:0 till: 147.0 bar:Aug from:0 till: 86.30 bar:Sep from:0 till: 93.40 bar:Oct from:0 till: 139.0 bar:Nov from:0 till: 181.0 bar:Dec from:0 till: 153.0 PlotData= bar:Jan at: 142.0 fontsize:S text: 142.0 shift:(-8,5) bar:Feb at: 143.0 fontsize:S text: 143.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Mar at: 178.0 fontsize:S text: 178.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Apr at: 228.0 fontsize:S text: 228.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:May at: 315.0 fontsize:S text: 315.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Jun at: 292.0 fontsize:S text: 292.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Jul at: 147.0 fontsize:S text: 147.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Aug at: 86.30 fontsize:S text: 86.30 shift:(-10,5) bar:Sep at: 93.40 fontsize:S text: 93.40 shift:(-10,5) bar:Oct at: 139.0 fontsize:S text: 139.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Nov at: 181.0 fontsize:S text: 181.0 shift:(-12,5) bar:Dec at: 153.0 fontsize:S text: 153.0 shift:(-12,5) Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Saint-Paul-lès- Durance ===Course=== The Durance starts in the pré de Gondran ("meadow of Gondran"), on the east side of the Sommet des Anges mountain, in the commune of Montgenèvre (a ski resort near Briançon), Hautes-Alpes department, at an elevation of about . It then flows to the southwest through the departments of Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône. Finally, the river flows into the Rhône river, as a left tributary, south of the city of Avignon. The Durance only flows through two departments: Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; it forms the border between two other departments but it does not flow through them: Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône. It flows through the Var department only for a short distance. It flows through the following communes, among others: * Hautes-Alpes **Briançon **Embrun *Alpes-de-Haute- Provence **Sisteron **Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban **Manosque *Vaucluse **Pertuis **Cadenet **Cavaillon ==Main tributaries == The main tributaries of the Durance river are: Left tributaries: * Cerveyrette - 22.8 km * Guil - 51.5 km * Vachères - 21.9 km * Ubaye - 82.7 km * La Blanche - 30.2 km * Sasse - 38.4 km * Vanson - 30.2 km * Bléone - 67.5 km * Rancure - 23.9 km * Asse - 75.3 km * Verdon - 165.7 km * Réal - 22.5 km * Anguillon - 20.1 km Right tributaries: * Clarée - 31.8 km * Guisane - 27.7 km * Avance - 20.6 km * Luye - 22.6 km * Buëch - 85 km * Jabron - 36.5 km * Lauzon - 25.2 km * Largue - 55.4 km * Èze - 24.3 km * Aigue Brun - 22.8 km * Coulon - 88.2 km ==Gallery