The Oise ( ; ) is a

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 ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

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 ...

, flowing for from its source in the Belgian province of Hainaut, south of Chimay. It crosses the border with France after about . It flows into the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a north-western suburb of

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Its main tributary is the Aisne. It gave its name to the French departments of Oise and

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674. ...

Places along the river

In France, the Oise flows through the following '' départements'' and towns: * Aisne: Hirson, Guise,

Chauny Chauny () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History There has been a settlement on the site, more or less continuously, since at least the Carolingian era. Known variously as Calgny, Cauny, Canni, Calni ...

* Oise (named after the river): Noyon,

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with ...

, Creil *

(named after the river):

Auvers-sur-Oise Auvers-sur-Oise (, literally ''Auvers on Oise'') is a commune in the department of Val-d'Oise, on the northwestern outskirts of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most promin ...

, Pontoise,

Cergy Cergy () is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in northwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated ...

, Jouy-le-Moutier * Yvelines: Conflans-Sainte-Honorine

Navigation

Over the past few centuries, the Oise has played an important role as an inland shipping waterway connecting the Seine (and thus Paris) with the coastal regions of northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. With the projected construction of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal, a high-capacity water transport system currently in development, the Oise will be linked at Janville, north of

, with the high-capacity Canal Dunkerque-Escaut, east of Arleux. The Seine-Nord Europe Canal will replace the old

Canal de Saint-Quentin The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much long ...

and the current

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

, the capacity of which is far below standard. When the new Seine-Nord connection is complete, it will allow large vessels to transport goods from the Seine, and thus Paris and its surrounding area, to the ports of Dunkirk,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

. Part of the overall project consists in upgrading the river Oise itself between Creil and Compiègne, a project called MAGEO (''Mise au gabarit européen de l'Oise'') that was put out to public consultation in 2013. Some bends need to be eased and bridges raised to meet the requirements of a class Vb inland waterway.

Tributaries

Tributaries include

Right bank

* Noirieu * Divette * Mas or Matz * Aronde * Brèche *

Thérain The Thérain () is a river in France, tributary of the Oise. It is long. It rises between Saint-Michel-d'Halescourt and Grumesnil in Seine-Maritime at 175 meters elevation. It flows generally southeast, through Songeons, Milly-sur-Thérain, ...

Left bank

* Gland * Thon * Serre * Ailette * Ru de Servais * Aisne * Automne * Nonette * Thève

References

External links

River Oise and Canal latéral à l'Oise
maps and information, on places, ports and moorings on the canal, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control International rivers of Europe Rivers of Belgium Rivers of France Rivers of Aisne Rivers of Oise Rivers of Val-d'Oise Rivers of Yvelines Rivers of Hauts-de-France Rivers of Île-de-France Rivers of Hainaut (province) Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium) Rivers of the Ardennes (France) Chimay