Gave de Pau

The Gave de Pau is a river of south-western France. It is a left tributary of the Adour river.

It takes its name from the city Pau, through which it flows. The word gave is a name given to rivers on the mountains in regions of the western Pyrenees; so, Gave de Pau means "the river of Pau" or "the river that flows through Pau". Many other rivers in the region have the word gave as part of their names.

Geography
The Gave de Pau has a length of about , including the Gave de Gavarnie, 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 Bérenx, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Bérenx

Course
The Gave de Pau starts in the Cirque de Gavarnie, in the Parc national des Pyrénées ("Pyrénées National Park"), in the commune of Gavarnie, Hautes-Pyrénées department, at an altitude of about . The upper part of the river is known as Gave de Gavarnie; the name Gave de Pau is given to the river after the Gave de Gavarnie joins the Bastan river at Luz-Saint-Sauveur.

The Gave de Pau receives its main tributary, the Gave d'Oloron, in Peyrehorade and, from there, it is named as Gaves Réunis (United Gaves). Finally, it flows, as a left tributary, into the river Adour in the Landes department, at about  of altitude.

The Gave de Pau flows through 90 communes. It passes through the following regions, departments and communes:

 Occitanie region
 Hautes-Pyrénées: Gavarnie, Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Pierrefitte-Nestalas, Argelès-Gazost, Lourdes, Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
 Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Lestelle-Bétharram, Coarraze, Nay, Pau, Artix, Orthez
 Landes: Labatut

Main tributaries 
The tributaries of Gave de Pau with a length greater than  are:
 Left tributaries
 Ouzom - 33.2 km;
 Baïse - 40.6 km;
 Gave d'Azun - 29.1 km;
 Laâ - 29.5 km;
 Right tributaries
 Ousse - 42.4 km;
 Ousse des Bois - 32.3 km;
 Gave d'Oloron - 148.2 km;

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of France

 References 

Other websites

 Banque Hydro - Station Q5501010 - Le Gave de Pau à Berenx  

Category:Rivers of Occitanie
Category:Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine