The Chalaronne () is a long

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

department in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Its source is at Lapeyrouse, in the

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the s ...

. It flows generally northwest. It is a

left tributary 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 ...

of the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name deri ...

, into which it flows between

Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne (, literally ''Saint-Didier on Chalaronne'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Geography The Chalaronne flows westward through the southern part of the commune, then flows into the Saône, which ...

and

Thoissey Thoissey () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Geography The Chalaronne forms the commune's southeastern border, then flows into the Saône, which forms its western border. History Historical facts This commune, former ...

Communes along its course

This list is ordered from source to mouth: Lapeyrouse, Birieux,

Villars-les-Dombes Villars-les-Dombes (, literally ''Villars near Dombes'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Its people are known as ''Villardois''. Geography The town is located within Ain, half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg-en-Br ...

, Bouligneux, La Chapelle-du-Châtelard, Marlieux, Saint-Germain-sur-Renon, Sandrans,

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne (, literally ''Châtillon on Chalaronne'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. History The town takes its name from a castle built around 1000 AD. It was formerly named Châtillon-les-Dombes. G ...

L'Abergement-Clémenciat L'Abergement-Clémenciat (; frp, L’Abèrgement-Cllèmenciê) is a commune in the department of Ain and the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in eastern Metropolitan France. The commune was established in 1857 by combining the two parishes of Abe ...

, Dompierre-sur-Chalaronne, Saint-Étienne-sur-Chalaronne,

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Ain {{France-river-stub