Gardon

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Gardon
The Gardon near the Pont du Gard
The Gardon near the Pont du Gard
Origin Cévennes
Mouth Rhône
Basin countries France
Length 133 km
Avg. discharge 32 m³/s
Basin area 2,200 km²
The Gardon at Pont Saint-Nicolas
The Gardon at Pont Saint-Nicolas

The Gardon or Gard (Occitan and French: Gardon, Gard) is a river in southern France. It is the namesake of the Gard département.

The Gardon is 133 km long including its longest tributary "Gardon de Saint-Jean". It rises in the Cévennes range of mountains and ends into the Rhône River (right-side tributary) at Beaucaire, across from Vallabrègues.

Several of its tributaries are also called Gardon.

The Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard and the 16th-century Pont Saint-Nicolas are two historic bridges that cross the Gardon. The Gorge du Gardon, which ends at Pont Saint-Nicolas, is a popular recreation area for kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, and hiking.

In September of 2002 and again in December of 2003, the Gardon had record level floods that damaged many of its bridges including the Pont Saint-Nicolas, which has since been fully restored.

[edit] Places along the river

La Grand-Combe and Alès are situated on the "Gardon d'Alès", the major left tributary.

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 44°04′N 3°58′E / 44.067, 3.967