The Clarée is a river in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, a right tributary to the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is .Bassin versant : Clarée (La)
Observatoire Régional Eau et Milieux Aquatiques en PACA Its source is in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...

, near

Mont Thabor Mont Thabor is a mountain of Savoie and Hautes-Alpes, France. It lies in the Massif des Cerces Massif des Cerces () is a region of the French Alps on the France–Italy border, Franco-Italian border. On the French side it lies in the Departme ...

and

Valloire Valloire (; , ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. The ski resort Valloire-Galibier is located in the commune, at the foot of the Col du Télégraphe and next to the ski resort ...

. It flows for all of its course in the

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

department. Its confluence with the Durance is near the hamlet of Les Alberts not far from the source of the Durance in the ski resort of Montgenevre. The upper reaches of the river are in a military exercise range. This is where the French army from their base in

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

train in the mountains.

Tourism

In the summer the

Vallée de la Clarée Vallée is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *André Vallée (1930–2015), Canadian Roman Catholic bishop *Anne Vallée (born 1958), Canadian biologist *Bernard Vallée (1945–2021), French fencer * Brigitte Vallée (born ...

is visited by cyclists, walkers and horse riders. The river is used for water sports especially in spring as the snow melts. There are sections of white water, which are used by kayaks and white water rafts. There is a dramatic waterfall at Fontcouverte.

Settlements

The settlements along the Clarée include: *

Névache Névache (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Geography It is situated in the Vallée de la Clarée. Climate Névache has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dfb''). The average a ...

: * Plampinet * Le Serre *

Val-des-Prés Val-des-Prés (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. It is situated in the Clarée Valley. Population Personalities The village was the home of Émilie Carles who wrote her memoir ''A Wild Herb Soup'' (or ...

* Le Rosier * Les Alberts

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Hautes-Alpes Rivers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rivers of the Alps {{France-river-stub

Tourism

Settlements

See also

References