Marne (river)

The Marne is a river in France. It is a right tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. Four departments are named after it: Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne and Val-de-Marne.

The Marne is famous as the place of two battles during the First World War, the first in 1914 and the second in 1918.

Geography
The Marne river has a length of , one of the longest in France, and a drainage basin with an area of .

Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is  at Gournay-sur-Marne in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, for a period of 44 years.

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Gournay-sur-Marne

Course
The source of the Marne river is in the Plateau de Langres, in the commune of Balesmes-sur-Marne, at an altitude of about , in the Haute-Marne department. It flows generally to the north then turns to the west between Saint-Dizier and Châlons-en-Champagne.

The Marne river flows through 3 regions, 7 departments and 218 communes. It flows through the following communes, among others:
 Grand Est region
 Haute-Marne : Langres, Chaumont, Saint-Dizier
 Marne : Vitry le François, Châlons-en-Champagne, Épernay
 Hauts-de-France region
 Aisne : Château-Thierry
  Île-de-France region
 Seine-et-Marne : Meaux, Lagny-sur-Marne, Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, Torcy, Noisiel, Vaires-sur-Marne, Chelles
 Seine-Saint-Denis :  Gournay-sur-Marne, Noisy-le-Grand, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Neuilly-Plaisance
 Grand Paris
 Val-de-Marne : Nogent-sur-Marne, Créteil, Charenton-le-Pont, Champigny-sur-Marne, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Joinville-le-Pont, Saint-Maurice, Bry-sur-Marne, Le Perreux-sur-Marne, Maisons-Alfort

Finally, it flows into the Seine river between Charenton-le-Pont and Alfortville in the Val-de-Marne department, in the area of Paris.

Main tributaries
The main tributaries of the Marne river are:

Left tributaries:
 Suize - 48.6 km
 Blaise - 85.6 km
 Fion - 21.3 km
 Coole - 30.2 km
 Somme-Soude - 59.9 km
 Surmelin - 41.5 km
 Petit Morin - 86 km
 Grand Morin - 120 km
 Guenelle - 30.1 km

Right tributaries:
 Traire - 29 km
 Rognon - 73.3 km
 Moivre - 22.8 km
 Saulx - 127 km
 Ourcq - 87 km 
 Thérouanne - 23.3 km
 Beuvronne - 23.9 km

Painters of the Marne

During the 19th and 20th centuries the Marne inspired many painters: some of them are:

 Camille Corot;
 Paul Cézanne;
 Pierre Emmanuel Damoye;
 Camille Pissarro;
 Henri Rousseau, known as "Le Douanier Rousseau";
 Albert Marquet;
 Raoul Dufy;
 André Dunoyer de Ségonzac;
 Louis Vuillermoz;
 Maurice Boitel;
 Daniel du Janerand.

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of France
 First Battle of the Marne

References

Category:Rivers of Grand Est
Category:Rivers of Hauts-de-France
Category:Rivers of Île-de-France