The Charente (; oc, Charanta ) is a long river in southwestern France. Its source is in the

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' at Chéronnac, a small village near

Rochechouart Rochechouart (, ; oc, Rechoard, link=no, earlier ''La Ròcha Choard'') is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, west central France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The name of the town comes from La ...

. It flows through the departments of

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

. The river flows into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

near

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

Navigation

The Charente was described by the French king

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

as 'the most beautiful river in the kingdom', and was navigable in its natural state until mills were erected at many locations in the 14th century. Some locks were built but through navigation remained impossible for centuries. Improvements to the navigation were projected under Louis XVI in 1772, but work was interrupted by the Revolution. The project was revived under the Restoration and canalisation completed in 1835. The waterway was abandoned in 1957. The ''départements'' took over operation in 1963, and recreational vessels have now taken possession of the waterway throughout the 164 km to the town of

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

. The historic towns of

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cog ...

Jarnac Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France.Saintes and

make the river a popular destination for boaters, mainly in rental boats, with moorings provided at most towns and villages along the route. The

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

are .Charente (amont et aval)
Fluviacarte

Tributaries

Tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

include the rivers Antenne, Boëme,

Né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

, Coran,

Seugne The Seugne () is an long river in the Charente-Maritime département, in western France, left tributary of the Charente. Its source is in the commune of Montlieu-la-Garde, west of the village. It flows generally north-northwest. North from C ...

, Bramerit,

Boutonne The Boutonne () is a long river in the Deux-Sèvres and Charente-Maritime departments in western France. Its source is in the village of Chef-Boutonne (french: head of the Boutonne). It flows generally southwest. It is a right tributary of the ...

, Arnoult, Touvre and

Bonnieure The Bonnieure () is a river in the Charente ''département'', southwestern France, left tributary to the river Charente. It is long. Its source is in Genouillac, in the east of the department. It flows into the Charente near Mansle. Another tow ...

. The river Boutonne is navigable over a distance of 31 km to Saint-Jean-d'Angély, but a barrier at the confluence prevents access except under exceptional conditions.

En route

Towns and villages include

Vergeroux Vergeroux () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of Fran ...

Soubise Soubise can refer to: * Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos) * Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée * Soubise, Ch ...

and

Tonnay-Charente Tonnay-Charente () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. In the 18th century, it was the home town of prominent Irish physician Dr. Theobald Jennings and his son, Irish-born Frenc ...

on the tidal river, and

Saint-Savinien Saint-Savinien () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.Taillebourg, Saintes,

Jarnac Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France.Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

on the navigable river, while

Montignac-Charente Montignac-Charente () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population Sights and monuments * Château de Montignac - keep and remains of an 11th-13th century castle, listed since 1962 as a ''monument historique'' by ...

and Civray are on the river's upper course.

References

External links

River Charente and River Boutonne
with maps and details for navigation, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', referenced above
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Charente (River) Rivers of France Rivers of Charente Rivers of Charente-Maritime Rivers of Haute-Vienne Rivers of Vienne Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine