The Formans () is a small river in eastern France,. It rises in the

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on th ...

plateau in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...

department and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It flows into the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

between Saint-Bernard and

Trévoux Trévoux (; frp, Trevôrs) is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Trévoltiens. It is a suburb of Lyon, built on the steeply sloping left bank of the river Saône. History In AD 843, the treaty ...

. It is long.

Communes traversed

The Formans, like its main tributary, the

Morbier Morbier () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,263.

is a watercourse which links the ponds of the Dombes plateau with the Saône valley. It is fed by many bodies of water situated in Savigneux, Saint-Jean-de-Thurigneux and

Ambérieux-en-Dombes Ambérieux-en-Dombes (, literally ''Ambérieux in Dombes'') is a commune in the department of Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ambarrois'' or ''Ambarroises'' Geography A ...

at an altitude of 300m, which is the high point of its drainage basin. The Morbier in turn has its origin in ponds situated within the communes of Civieux bordering

Saint-André-de-Corcy Saint-André-de-Corcy () is a commune in the Ain ''département'' in eastern France. Population Sites and monuments The commune has several châteaux and ''poypes'' (fortified mounds, or mottes). The motte castrale Poype de la Roussière ha ...

. The Formans takes several names (ruisseau de la Pierre, ruisseau de l'Orme), collects other

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

, and passes through

Ars-sur-Formans Ars-sur-Formans is a commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. Geography The village is in the south-western part of the Ain department 33 km north of Lyon and 10 km east of Villefranche ...

and Misérieux, reaching its confluence with the Morbier at Sainte-Euphémie. The Morbier (Bief Mort / Bief lent) reaches Sainte Euphémie after passing through

Rancé Rancé () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. It is about 20 km north of Lyon. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. ...

and Toussieux, receiving the Vignol and Caillates rivers and crossing the south of Misérieux. The confluence with the Morbier at Sainte Euphémie is the most remarkable point on the Formans. The Morbier is channeled by a dam wall up to a great lock which creates a small forebay recently used in the mouturière industry. At this point the Formans receives the Morbier's entier volume. It then passes through Saint-Didier-de-Formans, dividing the south of Saint Bernard from the north of Trévoux, to reach the Saône. Its mouth is situated at an altitude of 170m.

References

External links

*{{in lang, fr}
Association for Management and Environmental Monitoring of the Formans
Rivers of France Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Ain