The name comes from Garumna, a Latinized version of the Aquitaine name meaning „rocky river“ („kar“ meaning „stone“ and „-ona“ meaning „river“).
Garonne is a French river that is 647 km long (including the 75 km long Gironde estuary), which rises in Catalonia and flows through the French regions of Midi-Pyrénées and Aquitaine. Catchment area, including the Dordogne basin, is 84 811 km². And the Garonne itself is 55 846 km², with 600 km² attributable to Spain and 40 km² to Andorra.
The source of the river
The river rises in the Arán valley in the Spanish Central Pyrenees from several sources at an altitude of 800 to 2 300 m. It flows northwards where it crosses the French border after a short distance at a place called Pont du Roy near the town of Fos. Before leaving the Pyrenees, it passes through the pilgrimage town of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, where its course turns slightly eastwards. At its upper end it flows in a narrow, deep valley and has a steep gradient. It’s then flow through a large valley, the Garonne Plain. It becomes a typical flat river with a well-developed river valley. It heads north-west again, where it gradually meets the larger towns of Toulouse, Agen and Bordeaux. Between Toulouse and Bordeaux. It’s largest tributaries, the Tarn and the Lot, join the Garonne and form the water system of the Massif Central. At Bordeaux, the river is 500 m wide.
The Garonne, together with the Dordogne, flows into the Bay of Biscay, a 75 km long and up to 11 km wide estuary called the Gironde.
The river is navigable from the ocean to the town of Langon, about 50 km outside Bordeaux. A side canal was therefore built in the 19th century to allow navigation as far as Toulouse. Where it is linked to the Canal du Midi, which connects Toulouse to the Mediterranean. Although the river is important for the transport of goods and materials. It’s not navigable for the bulkier ships, which only go as far as Langon.
Fish in the river
The Garonne’s fish include salmon, trout. For whose migration special fish passes have been built around the hydroelectric power stations in the municipalities of Golfech, Toulouse and Carbonne.
Energy
The stretch between the Pyrenees and Toulouse is often used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. In addition, there are two nuclear power stations on the banks of the river in the Blayais and Golfech regions.
