Aisne (river)

The Aisne is a river in northeastern France. It is a left tributary of the Oise river. It gave its name to the French department of Aisne. It was known in Roman times with its Celtic name of Axona.

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

Course
The source of the Aisne is in the "Forest of Argonne", in the Rembercourt-Sommaisne commune (Meuse), near the border with the Marne department, at an altitude of about . From here, the Aisne flows to the west.

The Aisne river flows through 2 regions and 5 departments. It flows through the following communes, among others:
 Grand Est region
 Meuse:  Vaubecourt, Triaucourt-en-Argonne
 Marne: Sainte-Menehould
 Ardennes: Vouziers, Attigny, Rethel, Château-Porcien, Asfeld
 Hauts-de-France region
 Aisne: Neufchâtel-sur-Aisne, Vailly-sur-Aisne, Soissons, Vic-sur-Aisne
 Oise: Attichy, Trosly-Breuil, Compiègne

Finally, it flows into the Oise river in the city of Compiègne.

Main tributaries
The main tributaries of the Aisne river are:

Left tributaries:
 Ante - 26 km
 Auve - 20.2 km
 Bionne - 15.5 km
 Retourne - 45.4 km
 Suippe - 81.7 km
 Tourbe - 21.1 km
 Vesle - 139.5 km
 Crise - 23.5 km

Right tributaries:
 Biesme - 28.1 km
 Aire - 125.6 km
 Vaux - 37.7 km

 Hydrology 
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is  at Trosly-Breuil in the Oise department.

Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Trosly-Breuil (1961 - 2002)

The Aisne shows typical seasonal fluctuations. The highest levels of the river are in winter and spring, from December to May inclusive, with the highest level in February. They are followed by a rapid fall in the flow during the low water period that goes from July to October.

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of France

References

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