The Aude (; ; Latin Atax ) is a river of southern France that is long. Some authors in antiquity called the river Narbôn (e.g. Polybius).

In 1342 the Roussillon Cartulary of Alart called it the Auda or the Ribera d'Aude. In the Middle Ages the terms Adice, again Atax, Fluvium Atacis, Flumine Atace, Flumen Ataze, and Juxta Aditum fluvium were also used to designate the Aude.

Geography

Course

thumb|The source of the Aude in the commune of Les Angles, near Lac d'Aude

The river has its source in the Massif of Carlit at the Lac d'Aude at an elevation of in the commune of Les Angles (department of Pyrénées-Orientales) and flows parallel to the Tet. The Col de la Quillane, elevation , marks the boundary of the watershed. The river then flows into the Mediterranean Sea a few kilometres from Narbonne at Grau de Vendres (near Cabanes-de-Fleury) on the border between the departments of Aude and Hérault.

At Carcassonne in the Pyrénées its course is oriented north-south. The Aude then presents the characteristics of a mountain stream as it traverses Capcir and feeds several reservoirs (Matemale, Puyvalador) before plunging into gorges (those of Saint-Georges are the most scenic) crossing ancient terrain. Starting from Axat, after being joined by the Aiguette on the right bank and the Rébenty on the left bank, the river flows through bands of pre-Pyrénéen limestone (in the Pierre-Lys Gorges) and passes through a series of small communes: Quillan, Espéraza, Couiza, Alet-les-Bains, then Limoux. Downstream of this great medieval city, the Aude flows eastwards. This elbow results from a Stream capture, the Aude having once flowed in the valley of the Hers, indicating a deepening by an ancient hydrology following the uplifting of the Pyrénées.

thumb|The Aude at [[Matemale]]

From Carcassonne, the river becomes calmer following the great tectonic furrow which separates the Pyrénées (Corbières) from the Massif Central (Montagne Noire), receiving from these heights a series of tributaries of which the main ones are the Orbieu on the right bank, and the Argent-Double and the Casse on the left bank. From this point, bordered by the Canal du Midi and sinuous amid vineyards, the Aude enters the broad alluvial plain of Narbonne with the main stream flowing to the Gulf of Lion and some waters diverted to a network of ancient ponds before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea .

Hydrography

thumb|The Aude near its mouth at [[Salles-d'Aude]]

The Aude has a catchment area of that extends unevenly across six departments: Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, and Hérault (Haute-Garonne and Tarn are only affected by the course of tributaries and sub-tributaries of the river). Before Carcassonne, the Aude receives tributary streams of short length which often have the characteristics of mountain torrents.

Starting from the prefecture of Aude department in the lower valley the Aude river joins with the largest rivers, most of them from the Montagne Noire. From upstream to downstream, the main tributaries of the Aude, longer than 10 km, are: where the average flow rate reaches , the system is almost entirely rainfed (The flow at Grau de Vendres where it meets the Mediterranean is around .)

The Aude is thus characterized in its lower course by a pluvio-nival regime of meridional type with high baseflow in summer, in August at Moussan The scale of the disaster was due to the combination of two factors: Thunderstorms with rainfall on an unprecedented scale. Up to fell in two days at Lézignan-Corbières, that is to say more than the average annual total. In addition, a strong storm in the Gulf of Lyon led to a rise of in the sea level and, combined with the strong waves and wind, prevented the flow of water already swollen by the torrential rains. The Aude rose to a height of , its highest level since 1891. Carcassonne received of rainfall within five hours; water level in the city rose during that period. At least 14 people died because of the flash flood, mainly in the town of Villegailhenc, Aude.

History or environment

thumb|The bridge across the Aude at [[Limoux]]

Departments and towns crossed

  • Pyrénées-Orientales: in the region of Capcir to Matemale, and Formiguères
  • Hérault: Olonzac, Lespignan, Vendres
  • Aude: Axat, Belvianes-et-Cavirac, Quillan, Campagne-sur-Aude, Espéraza, Montazels, Couiza, Alet-les-Bains, Limoux, Carcassonne, Trèbes, Narbonne, Coursan, Cuxac-d'Aude, Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude
  • Ariège: Rouze

See also

  • List of rivers of France
  • Hiking in the Pyrénées-Orientales

Bibliography

  • Jacques Amiel, L'AUDE. Fleuve du pays cathare, Les presses du Languedoc, Montpellier, 1999
  • Jean Faure, The son of a radelier, Atelier du gué, Villelongue d'Aude, 2001 ()

References