The Ardre () is a fifth order river in France which flows into the

Vesle The Vesle () is the river on which the city of Reims stands. It is a fourth order river of France and a left-bank tributary of the Aisne. It is long, and rises in the ''département'' of Marne through which it flows most of its course. Geogra ...

(left tributary) thence into the Aisne,

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

and Seine. It is long.

Geography

The river lies to the west of Reims and flows on bearing of about 310° from the Parc Régional de la Montagne de Reims to enter the

Fismes Fismes () is a commune in the Marne department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Fismois'' or ''Fismoises'' The commune has been awarded three flowers in the '' Competition of cities ...

. It rises at an altitude of about and descends over a course of , to about in Fismes. It is crossed by the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to Reims motorway, A4/E50 about halfway along the river's length. Its geology is comparable with that of the lower Thames valley and south Hampshire. Though the chalk of the Champagne plateau is not far away, towards Reims, the immediate surroundings are of middle Eocene but the river has cut down into lower Eocene clay deposits like those at

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

. Consequently, the landscape is much more wooded than that typical of

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

Hydrology

The Ardre's flow was observed during a period of 37 years (1969–2005), at

, in the département of

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

situated at its confluence with the

. The catchment area of the river is . The mean of the annual flow rates or module, at Fismes over this period was shown to be 1,56 m³ per second. The seasonal fluctuations are small, at least, when compared with the typical French water course. The higher flows occur in the winter to spring period, taking the monthly flow rates to between 1,95 and 2,54 m³ per second, from December to April with a slight peak in February. The low flows occur in late summer and early autumn, from July to October. This gives a low in the mean monthly flow rate of 0,68-0,70 m³ in August and September. Ardre 130708 08

At the point of lowest mean flow, in the case of a drought to be expected statistically once in five years, which is not serious, the VCN3. Unlike the Vesle, in the Ardre peaks in flow can be quite great. This arises from the small mean flow and the small catchment area. The QIX 10 is 17 m³ per second, the QIX 20, 21 m³, while the QIX 50 is 25 m³ per second. (The mean monthly flow in the wettest month of the year is 2,54 m³ per second.) The greatest momentary flow recorded at Fismes during the period of evaluation was 28,6 m³ per second on the 26 March 1988, while the maximum daily flow was 22,5 m³ per second, on the same day. Comparing the former value with the QUIX scale for the river, this flow was greater than the 60 year maximum calculated from the QUIX 50, therefore exceptional.

Fisheries

The Ardre is a water of the first category down to the bridge at

Faverolles-et-Coëmy Faverolles-et-Coëmy () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...

, in other words, it is fished primarily for salmonids such as brown trout (''Salmo trutta fario''). Below the bridge, it becomes a second category river, offering principally cyprinids (white fish).

History

The Ardre became a footnote in British military history as the river down the valley of which the British 51st and 62nd Divisions, with attached New Zealanders, fought in cooperation with French V Army forces on each flank and with Italian artillery support, in July 1918, during the Second Battle of the Aisne.62nd Division on the Ardre

References

{{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Marne (department) Rivers of Grand Est Articles which contain graphical timelines