Somme River

The Somme is a river in the north of France, in the  Hauts-de-France region, and gives its name to the department called Somme.

The name of the river is of Celtic origins, and refers to the tranquility of the river over much of its course. The river is known for the Battle of the Somme, which was an important battle of the First World War.

Geography
The Somme river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of .

Course
The source of the Somme is in the Fonsomme commune (Aisne), at an altitude of about .

The Somme passes through the departments and cities of:
 Aisne : Fonsomme, Saint-Quentin 
 Somme : Ham, Péronne, Corbie, Amiens, Abbeville, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme

The Somme river flows through 49 communes.

Finally, it flows into the English Channel near Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.

Main tributaries
 Left tributaries
 Avre - 66.2 km;
 Selle - 38.9 km;
 Saint-Landon - 13.2 km;
 Airaines - 12.8 km;
 Right tributaries
 Omignon - 32 km;
 Cologne - 23.2 km;
 Tortille - 16.1 km;
 Ancre - 37.4 km;
 Hallue - 15.8 km;
 Nièvre - 22 km;
 Scardon - 12.4 km;

Archaeology
Different archeological finds have been discovered in its valley: The Acheulean culture is named after Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens. Hand axes from the Palaeolithic period were found there, and gave this name to the respective period.

Related pages
 List of rivers of France

References

Other websites

 Banque Hydro - MEDDE, «Synthèse de la Banque Hydro»  

Category:Rivers of Hauts-de-France