18 Facts About Durance

1.

The Durance itself is a tributary of the Rhone and flows into the Rhone near Avignon.

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2.

The Durance is the second longest of the tributaries of the Rhone and the third largest in terms of its flow .

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3.

Durance retains its name rather than either the Claree or Guisane, even though the latter two are longer than the Durance when they each merge.

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4.

The Durance is better known than the other two rivers because the Durance valley is an old and important trade route, whereas the valleys of the Claree and Guisane are effectively dead ends.

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5.

The Durance is the longest river in Metropolitan France without a department named after it.

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6.

Source of La Durance is on the northern slope of the Sommet des Anges, where the first small streams combine into a river.

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7.

The Durance receives only one significant tributary on this last part of its course: the Calavon, which flows around the Luberon range to the north.

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8.

The upper Durance is an alpine river with a flow ranging from 18 to 197 cubic metres per second .

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9.

At the confluence with the Rhone, the average natural flow of the Durance is approximately 190 cubic metres per second, with a high annual variability.

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10.

The Durance provides today two-thirds of the water for the city of Marseilles.

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11.

Durance used to have an average natural flow of 188 cubic metres per second and behaved like a Mediterranean river, but dams and canals have changed it considerably.

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12.

Durance played a very important part in the history of Provence, and largely contributed to the economic growth and population of the Marseilles area, after having been an obstacle for centuries.

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13.

From Antiquity until the 19th century, the Durance was famous for the difficulty of crossing it, its massive floods and an inconstant flow.

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14.

In pre-Roman times, the Durance was the border between various Celto-Ligurian people established along its course, such as the Cavares and the Salyes .

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15.

Valley of the Durance is a route through the Alps, used by the Via Domitia.

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16.

Durance was ceased to carry freight because of competition from road and rail.

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17.

Durance is represented in the form of an ornate monument at the Palais Longchamp, in Marseille, built between 1862 and 1869 by the architect Esperandieu, to celebrate the arrival of water from the Durance, via the Canal de Marseille.

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18.

La Durance is the name of an academic bulletin by history and geography professors at Aix-Marseille.

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