Garonne
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The Garonne (Occitan: Garona) is a river in southwest France, with a length of 575 km (357 miles).
Origin of the name
The name "Garonne" comes from Latin Garumna, which is the transcription of the native name of the river in Antiquity. This native name derives from the Aquitanian (language related to old Basque) word kar, meaning "rock", akin to old Basque karri (modern Basque harri, "stone"), and from a Celtic (or more probably Pre-Indo-European) suffix -onna which means "source, river", and which can be found in the name of many rivers of western Europe (such as the Seine, the Saône, or the Dordogne).
Geography
The river rises in the Val d'Aran (Spanish Pyrenees), flowing via Toulouse towards Bordeaux, where it flows into the Gironde Estuary. The Gironde Estuary flows into the Bay of Biscay.
In its flow, the Garonne is joined by three other major rivers: the Ariège, the Tarn, the Lot. Just after Bordeaux, the Garonne river finally meets the Dordogne, after which the two rivers become the Gironde Estuary which after approximately 60 miles joins the Atlantic Ocean. Other tributaries include the Save and the Gers.
The Garonne is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore. Surf boarders, Jet Skiers etc can ride the tidal bore as least as far as the village of Cambes (70 miles from the Atlantic) and even further upstream.
Major riverside towns: Bordeaux, Agen, Toulouse
See also
de:Garonne es:Garona fr:Garonne la:Garumna lb:Garonne nl:Garonne pl:Garonna