The Vézère (; oc, Vesera) is a 211-km-long river in southwestern

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 ...

. It is an important tributary to the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as 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 10,0 ...

. It flows into the Dordogne near

Le Bugue Le Bugue (; oc, Al Buga or ''Lo Buga'') is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France. Geography Le Bugue is located on the banks of the river Vézère a few kilometres before the confluence of the Vézère with the Dordogne a ...

. A tributary of the Vézère is the

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regio ...

. The Vézère Valley is famed for its prehistoric cave systems, containing numerous cave paintings and hominid remains.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

collectively designated these a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1979. Among the sites with remarkable caves is

Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; french: Grotte de Lascaux , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of t ...

Geography

The Vézère takes its source in the bog of Longéroux, on the plateau of Millevaches, in the Massif Central in Corrèze, at 887 meters above sea level, in the commune of Meymac, west of the ''Puy Pendu'' (973 m) in the forest of Longéroux, at the place called ''sources de la Vézère''. It flows into the Dordogne on the right bank at

Limeuil Limeuil (; oc, Limuèlh) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Limeuil village is located at the confluence of the Dordogne and Vézère rivers. Historically this location at the meeting of the ...

, at an altitude of 50 metres. Its main tributary is the

, their confluence is located in the western suburbs of Brive-la-Gaillarde. Other tributaries are the Loyre, the Bradascou and the Brézou. The length of the Vézère is 211.2 km.

Departments and main communes crossed

It flows southwest through the following ''

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 ...

s'' and cities: *

Pérols-sur-Vézère Pérols-sur-Vézère (, literally ''Pérols on Vézère''; oc, Peròls de Vesera) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Corrèze department The following is a list of the 279 c ...

, Bugeat,

Uzerche Uzerche (; oc, Usercha) is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. In 1787, the English writer Arthur Young described the town as "the pearl of the Limousin" because of its picturesque setting ...

, Vigeois,

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

: Montignac,

Terrasson-Lavilledieu Terrasson-Lavilledieu (; oc, Terrasson e La Vila Dieu) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The commune was created in 1963 by the merger of the former communes Terrasson and Lavilledieu. Terrass ...

Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (; oc, Las Aisiás de Taiac e Siruèlh) is a former commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Les Eyzies.Le Bugue Le Bugue (; oc, Al Buga or ''Lo Buga'') is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France. Geography Le Bugue is located on the banks of the river Vézère a few kilometres before the confluence of the Vézère with the Dordogne a ...

Facilities

The Vézère to Uzerche. In its upstream part, the Vézère has three major dams: the dam of ''Monceaux la Virolle'' (or ''de Monceaux la Virole''), the barrage at

Treignac Treignac (; oc, Trainhac) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Treignac, designated one of the 'most beautiful villages of France', is a most typically French town retaining much of its medieval character, situated on th ...

, located between 500 and 650 meters above sea level, and the dam at Saillant, a little lower.

Hydronymy

The river Visera is attested in

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

monastic medieval manuscripts in 889. It should not be confused in the Dordogne with the Upper Vézère, or Auvézère, a tributary of the ''L'Isle'', 10 kilometers east of

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also ...

. The name Vézère comes, according to some scholars, from the ancient hydronym Vizara or Izara, formed by two contiguous Ligurian roots. The first, ''viz'' or ''iz'', and the second ''ara''. ''Viz'' or ''Iz'' means a "hollow Valley", and ''ara'' means a "watercourse", the word ''Vézère'' means "streams in the hollow valley". It could also be a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

word ''Isara'', meaning a "fast and impetuous flow (in case of flood)" to indicate to the travellers the dangers of a river during periods of intense rains or snow melt. The simple Latin variation is ''visara'' in the Gallo-Roman world which explains the logical phonetic evolution into

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

and Occitan.

Prehistoric sites and decorated caves in the Vézère valley

The Vézère valley was dubbed the "Valley of Mankind" from the end of the nineteenth century following the numerous discoveries of exceptional prehistoric sites, including the Abri de Crô-Magnon, a rock shelter, the cave of

Font-de-Gaume Font-de-Gaume is a cave near Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in the Dordogne départment of south-west France. The cave contains prehistoric polychrome cave paintings and engravings dating to the Magdalenian period. Discovered in 1901, more tha ...

and the Combarelles caves in Les Eyzies. It also the location of the Lascaux cave in Montignac. The prehistoric and ornate caves of the Vézère Valley are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

References

External links

World Heritage profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vezere Rivers of France Rivers of Corrèze Rivers of Dordogne World Heritage Sites in France Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia