The Sioule (; oc, Siula) is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the river
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
.
Its source is near the village of
Orcival, north of
, in the
Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
. The Sioule has cut a deep
gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
, especially in its upper course. The Sioule flows generally northeast through the following
departments and towns:
*
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.[Pontgibaud
Pontgibaud () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme départment in Auvergne in central France.
It is located in the Massif Central region of France on the banks of the river Sioule. The area around the town was historically known for silver and lead ...]
*
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
:
Ébreuil
Ébreuil (; Auvergnat: ''Esbreule'') is a commune in the Allier department in central France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions a ...
,
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule (, literally ''Saint-Pourçain on Sioule''; Auvergnat: ''Sant Porçanh de Siula'') is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. It is named after Saint Pourçain, a 6th century ...
The Sioule flows into the river Allier at
La Ferté-Hauterive
La Ferté-Hauterive () is a commune in the Allier department in central France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories ...
, 10 km (6 mi) north of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule.
Its main tributaries are the
Sioulet and the
Bouble
The Bouble () is a long river in the Allier and Puy-de-Dôme departments in south central France. Its source is at Gouttières. It flows generally northeast. It is a left tributary of the Sioule into which it flows between Saint-Pourçain-sur ...
.
The
Fades viaduct
The Fades Viaduct (french: Viaduc des Fades) is a railway viaduct in the Puy-de-Dôme department, central France. At the time of its inauguration on 10 October 1909, it was the tallest bridge in the world, across all categories. As of 2010 it stil ...
, the tallest railway bridge in France, is located on the Sioule.
References
Rivers of France
Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Rivers of Allier
Rivers of Puy-de-Dôme
{{France-river-stub