The Méouge (; ) is a river in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

and

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

regions of the south of France. It rises in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

near the town of Séderon and crosses into 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 ...

at Barret-sur-Méouge where it carves the spectacular tourist attraction, the ''Gorges de la Méouge'', through the limestone platform. Near the communities of Châteauneuf-de-Chabre and Antonaves it joins the river

Buëch The Buëch (; ) is a river in southeastern France, a right tributary of the Durance. It is long. Its 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 ...

which in turn flows into the Durance and the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

. Its

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 : Méouge (La)
Observatoire Régional Eau et Milieux Aquatiques en PACA

Gorges de la Méouge

The "Gorges de la Méouge" is a long

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

carved by the Méouge though the

mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock of the

in the

region. The lime colored gorge has wild shapes, small sandy beaches, huge polished pebbles, water holes and waterfalls. It is famous for swimming. The medieval bridge of Châteauneuf de Chabre is classified as a historical monument. The gorges are also classified Natural Areas of Ecological Interest, Fauna and Flora whose flora and fauna are protected.

Municipalities and townships crossed

In both departments of Hautes-Alpes (05) and

(26), the Méouge passes through eleven communities and two cantons. These include : Barret-de-Lioure (source), Séderon, Vers-sur-Méouge, Eygalayes, Lachau, Ballons, Salérans, Barret-sur-Méouge, Saint-Pierre-Avez, Châteauneuf-de-Chabre, Antonaves (confluence).

Tributaries

The Méouge has approximately 30 tributaries : * the Touissit ravine, * the Lèbrières ravine, * the Défens stream, * the Lioron ravine, * the Rivadet ravine, * the Rieu river * the Villefranche stream with four tributaries * the Voluy stream with two tributaries * the Colombier ravine * the Front-Cold ravine * the Vignard ravine, * the Saulce river with a tributary * the Riançon river with two tributaries * the Auzance, with two tributaries * the Mouessoron river * the Great Combe ravine * the Couzaut stream with a tributary * the stream through the Serre, * the Fontaine Aillaud ravine, * the Tramier ravine, * the ravine of salt water, * the Rif stream with three tributaries * the Bigarière stream, * The Fraches stream with a tributary * the Vines stream * the d'Ourse stream with a tributary * the Peysson stream, * the Rif stream with a tributary * the Gironde stream,

Hydrology

The Méouge watershed has an area of (by SANDRE) and (by SIEM 7). It covers 14 municipalities and between 1,500 and 2,000 residents, mostly living in the municipalities of the Canton of Ribiers.

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Drôme Rivers of Hautes-Alpes Canyons and gorges of Metropolitan France Rivers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes {{France-river-stub