Vienne (river)

The Vienne () is one of the most important rivers in southwestern France, a main left tributary of the lower Loire river. It supports numerous hydroelectric dams.

It flows through the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Centre-Val de Loire regions, and two French départements are named after the Vienne: the Haute-Vienne (87) and the Vienne (86).

Geography
The Vienne river has a length of  and a drainage basin with an area of approximately .

Course
The Vienne river starts in the department of the Corrèze, at the foot of Mont Audouze, on the Plateau de Millevaches, in the commune of Millevaches, at an elevation of about .

It then flows roughly west to the city of Limoges where its water was used in the famous Limoges porcelain industry. A little way after Limoges it takes a turn to the north.

Finally, the river flows into the Loire river, on the left side, in the commune Candes-Saint-Martin.

The Vienne flows through 6 departments and 96 communes, in 2 regions:
 Centre-Val de Loire region
 Indre-et-Loire: Chinon, Candes-Saint-Martin
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
 Corrèze: Peyrelevade
 Creuse
 Haute-Vienne: Rempnat, Eymoutiers, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, Limoges, Aixe-sur-Vienne, Saint-Junien
 Charente: Confolens
 Vienne: Chauvigny, Châtellerault

The Vienne flows through three regional nature parks: Parc naturel régional de Millevaches en Limousin, Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin and Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine.

Main tributaries 
The main tributaries of the Vienne river are:

Left tributaries:
 Combade - 41 km
 Briance - 57.7 km
 Clain - 144.3 km
 Aixette - 27.1 km

Right tributaries:
 Maulde - 68.5 km
 Taurion - 107.5 km
 Aurence - 27.3 km
 Glane - 41.4 km
 Gorre - 39.2 km
 Goire - 28.7 km
 Issoire - 45.7 km
 Blourde - 46.5 km
 Creuse - 236.6
 Manse - 30.5 km

 Hydrology 
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is  at Nouâtre in the Indre-et-Loire department.

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Nouâtre (1958 - 2017)

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of France

References

Other websites

 Banque Hydro - Station L7000610 - La Vienne à Nouâtre  

Category:Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Category:Rivers of Centre-Val de Loire