The Cher (; oc, Char), also referred to as the Cher River and the River Cher, is a river in central France, a left tributary of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. It is long and its basin area is . Its source is in the

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

department, north-east of Crocq. It joins the river Loire at

Villandry Villandry () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. The Château de Villandry is located there. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Ind ...

, west of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

. The river suffered a devastating

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

in 1940, which damaged the Château de Chenonceau, which spans the river, and other structures along the banks. It owes its name to the pre-Indo-European root kʰar 'stone'.

Departments and towns

The Cher flows through the following departments, and along the following towns: *

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Saint-Amand-Montrond Saint-Amand-Montrond () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France and the historical province of Bourbonnais. Saint-Amand-Montrond literally translates to Saint Amand round hill, despite not being on a rou ...

Vierzon Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwe ...

* Loir-et-Cher *

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it ...

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Cher are, from spring to mouth (L: left / R: right): * (L)

Tardes Tardes (; oc, Tardas) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography A farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key deve ...

** (L)

Voueize The Voueize (; oc, Voeisa) is a river in the Creuse ''département'', central France. Its source is at La Chaussade. It flows generally northeast. It is a left tributary of the Tardes into which it flows at Chambon-sur-Voueize. Communes along ...

* (R)

Amaron :''Amaron should not be confused with Ammaron, Ammoron, or Amoron, three other Book of Mormon figures with similar names.'' According to the Book of Mormon, Amaron () was a Nephite record keeper, who received the Plates of Nephi from his father O ...

or Lamaron at

* (R) Aumance at

Meaulne Meaulne () is a former commune in the Allier department in central France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in t ...

* (R) Yèvre at

** (L)

Auron Auron may refer to: * Auron (comics), two fictional DC Comics superheroes * Auron (ski resort) * Auron (river) in central France, a tributary of the Yèvre * Auron, a playable character in the Square role-playing game ''Final Fantasy X'' * One o ...

** (R) Colin * (L) Arnon at

** (L)

Théols The Théols is a river in central France. Its source is at near Bommiers, in the Boischaut natural region. It joins the Arnon near Lazenay. Hydrology The flow of the river was studied from 1971 to 1975 at Sainte-Lizaigne, located about f ...

* (R)

Sauldre The Sauldre (, ) is a long river in central France, a right tributary of the Cher. Its source is near the village of Montigny, southwest of Sancerre. The Sauldre flows generally northwest, through the following departments and towns: * Cher: ...

Selles-sur-Cher Selles-sur-Cher (, ) is a commune in the French department of Loir-et-Cher, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. The name of the commune is known internationally for its goat cheese, Selles-sur-Cher, which was first made in t ...

* (L) Fouzon above Saint-Aignan

Navigation

The Cher was part of a network of waterways that linked the city of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, where connections to other regions of France existed. , only the section between

Larçay Larçay () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Larcéens''. See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-e ...

(southeast of Tours) and

Noyers-sur-Cher Noyers-sur-Cher (, literally ''Noyers on Cher'') is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department, central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher d ...

is navigable for small boats (maximum

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

80 cm). It has 14 locks. At Noyers-sur-Cher, it is connected with the

Canal de Berry The Canal de Berry is a disused canal in France which links the Canal latéral à la Loire at Marseilles-lès-Aubigny with the Cher at Noyers rejoining the Loire near Tours. With a branch from Montluçon it provided of canal with locks wide f ...

, of which only the westernmost section until

is navigable.Fluviacarte
Canal de Berry

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Allier Rivers of Cher (department) Rivers of Creuse Rivers of Indre-et-Loire Rivers of Loir-et-Cher Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Centre-Val de Loire Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine {{France-river-stub