The Stura di Ovada is a stream of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

); it is the main tributary of the Orba.

Geography

The stream rises from monte Orditano (

Ceranesi Ceranesi (; lij, Çianexi ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northwest of Genoa. The Municipality of Ceranesi includes also the Shrine of N.S. della Guardia, the most ...

municipality), in the

Ligurian Apennine The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

, with the name ''Sturetta'' (''little Stura''). After

Piani di Praglia Piani di Praglia is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines. Hiking The mountain is also accessible by off-road mountain paths and is crossed by the ''Alta Via dei Monti Liguri'', a long-distance trail from Ve ...

Mele Mele () is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa. Mele borders the following municipalities: Genoa, Masone Masone ( or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the ...

municipality it receives Rio di Fregeu from left hand assuming the name of ''Stura''. In this brief part of its course the Stura marks the border between the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

, and the right part of its valley is encompassed in the Capanne di Marcarolo Natural Regional Park. Leaving the border it flows eastward in Liguria but, not faraway from

Passo del Turchino The Passo del Turchino is a mountain pass located between the cities of Masone and Mele in the Italian region Liguria. It is known for its annual appearance in the classic one-day cycling race Milan–San Remo, and occasionally in other races. ...

, turns North and reaches

Masone Masone ( or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northwest of Genoa. Masone borders the following municipalities: Bosio, Campo Ligure, Genoa, Mele, Tiglieto. See al ...

and

Campo Ligure Campo Ligure (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northwest of Genoa. Campo Ligure borders the following municipalities: Bosio, Masone, Rossiglione, Tiglieto. ...

receiving from the right hand its main tributaries, Rio Vezzulla and Torrente Ponzema. Crossing Rossiglione the Stura divides the town in ''Rossiglione Superiore'' (''Upper Rossigline'') and ''Rossiglione Inferiore'' (''Lower Rossiglione''). A couple of kilometres downstream it enters

between Belforte Monferrato and

Ovada Ovada (''Uà'' and ''Guà'' in Ligurian, ''Ovà'' in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 11,484 inhabitants in the Province of Alessandria in the northern Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of ...

. It joins the Orba near the northern border of

, at around 170

m.a.s.l. Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The com ...

Main tributaries

Rio masone a monte delle cascate del serpente

Stura di Ovada main tributaries are: *

right hand In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

: ** rio Vezzulla (12,12 km²), ** torrente Ponzema (13,16 km²), ** rio Angassino (4,02 km²), ** rio Berlino (13,58 km²), * left hand: ** rio Masone (8,35 km²), ** rio Masca (11,05 km²), ** rio Gargassa (16,19 km²).

Sports

The stream is considered suitable for angling

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

s. Some parts of the Stura can be covered by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

References

{{reflist Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Alessandria Rivers of the Province of Genoa Rivers of the Apennines

Geography

Main tributaries

Sports

See also

References