The Tarn (; oc, Tarn, la, Tarnis, possibly meaning 'rapid' or 'walled in') is a long river in the administrative region of

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

in southern France. It is a right tributary of the Garonne. The Tarn runs in a roughly westerly direction, from its source at an elevation of on Mont Lozère in the Cévennes mountains (part of the Massif Central), through the deep gorges and canyons of the Gorges du Tarn that cuts through the

Causse du Larzac The Larzac, also known as the Causse of Larzac (French: ''Causse du Larzac''), is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central, France, situated between Millau (in the département of l'Aveyron) and Lodève (in the départem ...

, to Moissac in Tarn-et-Garonne, where it joins the Garonne, downstream from the centre of town. Its basin covers approximately , and it has a mean flow of approximately . The Millau Viaduct spans the valley of the Tarn near

Millau Millau (; oc, Milhau ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in Southern France. One of two Subprefectures in France, subp ...

, and is now one of the area's most popular attractions.

Main tributaries

The tributaries of the Tarn include: * Agout (in Saint-Sulpice) *

Alrance Alrance (; oc, Alrança) is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Alrançais'' or ''Alrançaises'' Geography Alrance is located some 30 km west of Mil ...

* Aveyron (near Montauban) * Cernon * Dourbie (in

) * Dourdou de Camarès *

Jonte Jonte may refer to: * Jonte (river), a tributary of the Tarn in Southern France ;People * Jonté Buhl (born 1982), a professional Canadian football cornerback free agent * Jonte Willis (born 1983), an American heavyweight boxer * Antonio Álvarez Jo ...

(in Le Rozier) * Lemboulas * Lumensonesque * Muze * Rance (near

Trébas Trébas is a commune in the Tarn department and Occitanie region of southern France. See also *Communes of the Tarn department The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn department of France. The communes cooperate in the fo ...

) * Tarnon (in

Florac Florac is a former commune of the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Florac-Trois-Rivières. History Medieval Raymond of Anduze held the barony of Florac and is recorded as using ...

) *

Tescou The Tescou (french: Le Tescou) is a tributary of the Tarn in the basin of the Garonne in southern France. It flows through the departments of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Haute-Garonne. The source is near Gaillac in the Massif Central, and its c ...

The Tarn separates the Narbonne and Aquitaine basins.

Departments and cities

The Tarn passes through the following

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and towns: * Lozère: Le Pont-de-Montvert, Sainte-Enimie * Aveyron:

* Tarn: Albi, Gaillac, Lisle-sur-Tarn,

Rabastens Rabastens () is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. The historian Gustave de Clausade (1815–1888) was born in Rabastens of which he became mayor in 1848. Population Transport Rabastens-Couffouleux station has rail conne ...

* Haute-Garonne:

Villemur-sur-Tarn Villemur-sur-Tarn (, literally ''Villemur on Tarn''; Languedocien: ''Vilamur de Tarn'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily locat ...

* Tarn-et-Garonne: Montauban, Moissac. The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, carrying the A75 autoroute across the Tarn Gorge near Millau, opened in December 2004. The Tarn is famous for its brutal floods, which are the most dangerous in Europe along with the Danube. The floods of March 1930 saw the Tarn rise more than above its normal level in Montauban in just 24 hours, with a

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

of (the average discharge of the Rhine is ; the average discharge of the Nile during the traditional annual flooding before the building of the Aswan Dam was ; the average discharge of the Mississippi River is ). One third of the Tarn-et-Garonne department was flooded, about 300 people died, thousands of houses were destroyed, the low-lying districts of Montauban were destroyed, and the town of Moissac was almost entirely destroyed.

Navigation

The Tarn was once navigable from its junction with the Garonne to

Corbarieu Corbarieu (; oc, Corbariu) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. See also *Communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne department The following is a list of the 195 communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne d ...

, near Montauban. This stretch of river included seven river locks over a distance of . The canal was linked to the

Canal de Garonne Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

in Moissac by a branch lock upstream of the first river lock, and again, via the

Canal de Montech The Canal de Montech is an 11 km waterway in southwestern France connecting the Canal de Garonne Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) ...

, at Montauban. The two access points from the Canal de Garonne have both been restored, and boats can again access the immediate reaches of the river at these points. Additionally the first river lock, between Moissac and the Garonne itself, has been flooded by the barrage for the Golfech power station on the Garonne, and is permanently open to boats which can thus reach the Garonne and navigate a short distance of that river. The remaining six river locks are disused and unnavigable. A proposal exists to restore the five river locks between Moissac and Montauban, thus creating a waterway ring consisting of the Tarn from Moissac to Montauban, the Canal de Montech to Montech and the Canal de Garonne back to Moissac.

References

External links

French Waterways - River Tarn
Navigation guide to the lower *http://www.gorgesdutarn.net/?lang=en {{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Aveyron Rivers of Tarn (department) Rivers of Haute-Garonne Rivers of Tarn-et-Garonne