The Sorgue 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 ...

in Southeastern

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 ...

lying between the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. It is long. Its source is near the town of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse,

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department. It is the biggest

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

in France and the fifth biggest in the world. The Sorgue divides into two river courses at

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (; oc, L'Illa de Sòrga or ) is a town and commune on the Sorgue river in Southeastern France. Politically, the commune is in the arrondissement of Avignon within the department of Vaucluse, in the région of Provence-Al ...

, at a point on the river called the , then further downstream it divides into dozens of separate waterways with different names, such as Sorgue de l’Isle, Sorgue de

Velleron Velleron (; oc, Veleron) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vaucluse department The following is a list of the 151 communes of the Vaucluse dep ...

, Sorgue de Monclar, Sorgue de la Faible. All these arms of the Sorgue flow along the plain of the Sorgues, between

and

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

. The two largest streams, the Sorgue of Velleron and the Sorgue d'Entraigues, rejoin with one another and enter the Ouvèze at

Bédarrides Bédarrides (; Provençal: ''Bedarrida'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''villa Betorrida'' in 814, ''Biturrita'' in 898, ''Bistu ...

. The , which is the third-largest river course, joins with the Ouvèze at

Sorgues Sorgues (; oc, Sòrgas) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. The river Ouvèze, a tributary of the Rhône, as well as its tributary Sorgue, which begins at the Fontaine ...

, and flows into the

at Avignon.

History

In the mid-fourteenth century, the Italian humanist,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and scholar

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

visited the region of Vaucluse, climbing Mont Ventoux in 1336. Notable as the eternal lover of

Laura de Noves Laura de Noves (1310–1348) was the wife of Count Hugues de Sade (ancestor of the Marquis de Sade). She could be the Laura that the Humanist poet Francesco Petrarch wrote about extensively; however, she has never been positively identified as ...

, Petrarch returned repeatedly to the Fontaine de Vaucluse to listen to the "voice of the waters". The poet expresses his happiness: "The beautiful source of the river Sorgue, famous in her own right since time immemorial, is celebrated once more by my own extended stay and by my songs." (''La très illustre source de la Sorgue, fameuse par elle-même depuis longtemps, est devenue plus célèbre encore par mon long séjour et par mes chants'').Petrarca, ''Senil'', X, 2.

Economy

The management and upkeep of the waterways that make up the river Sorgue is not conducted directly by the State. Local towns have delegated the management of the river to three Unions of Local Rivers, which are federated within the Mixed Union of the Pool of the Sorgues. The Sorgue has historically provided power and water for many

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

s along its course, as well as many

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

. The river is now used extensively by fishermen. It is a tourist destination and is photographed and traveled on by those wishing to enjoy its beauty. Along its course, especially near its source, several canoeing centres provide boats for rent.

Weirs

More than one hundred

weirs A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

are used for the management of this river, as it makes its journey from the source at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, through its bifurcation at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and subsequent splitting into streams and courses that run into the rivers Ouvèze and Rhone.

References

External links

More information about the Sorgue
{{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rivers of Vaucluse