The Arve (french: L'Arve, ) is a river in

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 ...

(''

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

'' of

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

), and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(

canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

). A left tributary of 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, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is , of which 80 km² in Switzerland. Its average discharge in Geneva is . Rising in the northern side of the

Mont Blanc massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...

in 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 ...

, close to the Swiss border, it receives water from the many

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s of the

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

valley (mainly the

Mer de Glace The Mer de Glace ("Sea of Ice") is a valley glacier located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, in the French Alps. It is 7.5 km long and deep but, when all its tributary glaciers are taken into account, it can be regarded as ...

) before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, where its much higher level of silt brings forth a striking contrast between the two rivers. The Arve flows through

Sallanches Sallanches (; frp, Salenches) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of France. Located close to the Mont Blanc massif, many visitors pass through the town en route to well-known alpine resorts such as Chamonix, Megève and Saint-Gervais-le ...

Oëx Oëx is a village in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, below Pointe d'Areu in the Arve valley. It is part of the commune Magland in Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, A ...

Cluses Cluses (; frp, Clluses) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. Citizens are known as ''Clusiens''. The commune is situated in the Arve Valley, on the river which bears the same n ...

, Bonneville,

Annemasse Annemasse (; Arpitan: ''Anemâsse'') is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relatively small territory (4.98 km2 or 1.92 sq mi), it is Haute-Savoie's second ...

and Geneva. Tributaries include, from source to mouth:

Arveyron The Arveyron is a left tributary to the river Arve, rising in the famous Mer de Glace just above Chamonix in south-eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also ...

, Diosaz, Bon-Nant, Sallanche, Giffre, Borne,

Menoge The Menoge is a French river found in the Haute-Savoie department. Its source is near the Col des Moise, and flows through Vallée Verte, into the Arve just before Annemasse. It is long. Its tributaries are: Brevon de Saxel (confluence at Boëg ...

, Foron, Seymaz and

Aire Aire may refer to: Music * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places *Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in the Pas-de-Calais département in France *Aire-la-Ville, a municip ...

Gallery

Image:Rhône and Arve Junction.jpg, The Arve (right) meets the

Image:Arve à Chamonix.jpg, The Arve in Chamonix

References

Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of France Rivers of Haute-Savoie International rivers of Europe Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of the canton of Geneva Rivers of the Alps {{Switzerland-river-stub