The Vilaine (; br, Gwilen) is a river in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

, in the west of France. The river's source is in the

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' (53), and it flows out into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

at Pénestin in the

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coast ...

''département'' (56). It is 218 km long.

Course of the river

The river arises near the towns of Juvigné and La Croixille. It passes through 4 ''départements'' (

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population ...

and

) and 4 main towns (

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departmen ...

, Vitré,

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of ...

, and La Roche-Bernard), then flows into the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

by Pénestin. Three barrages were built around

Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine Vitré (; br, Gwitreg; gallo ''Vitræ'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton of 17,798 inhabitants (2015). It lies on the edge of B ...

to alleviate flooding, while securing potable water supplies: * 1978 Valière barrage * 1982 Haute-Vilaine barrage * 1995 Villaumur barrage They are also amenities for recreational activities.

Hydrology

The river has a flow ranging between 2 and 1500 m³/s

Navigation

The Vilaine is part of Brittany's canal system, built mainly in the 19th century for relatively small barges (130 tonnes). The entire system was transferred to the Brittany Region in 2011. In Rennes the river connects to the Canal d'Ille et Rance hence the Rance estuary, which enters the English Channel at Saint-Malo. In Redon it crosses the

Canal de Nantes à Brest 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 ...

, giving access to Pontivy and the Blavet (west) and Nantes (east).

Main tributaries

250 px, Vilaine catchment area *

Ille The Ille (; br, Il) is a small river in Brittany, France, right tributary of the river Vilaine. It is long. It flows into the Vilaine in the city Rennes. The Ille is linked to the river Rance by the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance. By this canal, Renne ...

* Meu *

Seiche A seiche ( ) is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors, caves and seas. The key requirement for formation of ...

* Semnon *

Chère The Chère (; br, Kaer) is a long river in the Loire-Atlantique and Ille-et-Vilaine ''départements'', northwestern France. Its source is at Soudan. It flows generally west. It is a left tributary of the Vilaine into which it flows between Pie ...

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

Oust The Oust (; br, Oud) is a river in Brittany, France, right tributary of the Vilaine. It is long. Its source is in the hills between Corlay and Quintin. It flows generally southeast, through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Côte ...

* Isac

References

External links

River Vilaine
navigation guide; places, ports and moorings on the river, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Pays de la Loire Rivers of Brittany Rivers of Ille-et-Vilaine Rivers of Loire-Atlantique Rivers of Mayenne Rivers of Morbihan