The Roya ( French, ), Roia (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

), or Ròia (

Brigasc Brigasc is a dialect of the Ligurian language. It is spoken in Italy and France. Area of use The Brigasc dialect is spoken in La Brigue (France) and Briga Alta (Italy) and some villages of the communes of Ormea and Triora. It is very close to R ...

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

) is a river of

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 ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, discharging into the

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient ...

. It is long, of which in France. Its drainage basin is about , of which in France.Bassin versant : Roya (La)
Observatoire Régional Eau et Milieux Aquatiques en PACA Ventimiglia

River course

The river rises in French territory near the

Col de Tende Col de Tende ( it, Colle di Tenda; elevation 1870 m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps, close to the border between France and Italy, although the highest section of the pass is wholly within France. It separates the Maritime Alps from the Lig ...

and flows through the

Mercantour National Park Mercantour National Park (french: Parc national du Mercantour) a French national park located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Since it was created in 1979, the park has proven popular, with 800,000 visitors annu ...

The river passes through the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

Tende Tende (; Italian, Occitan and Royasc: ''Tenda'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography Tende is located within Mercantour National Park in the French Alps. The mountainous commune is bordered b ...

Saorge Saorge (; Royasc: ''Sauèrge''; Brigasc: ''Savurgë''; it, Saorgio, oc, Saorj, lij, Savurgiu) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Highway E74 which runs north from Menton, passes through Saorge on its way ...

Breil-sur-Roya Breil-sur-Roya (, literally ''Breil on Roya''; it, Breglio sul Roia or simply ''Breglio''; lij, Breggio; oc, Brelh de Ròia) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Geography Breil-sur-Roya as ...

La Brigue La Brigue (; lij, Briga; oc, La Briga; it, Briga Marittima) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. La Brigue became part of France after World War II, when Italy was forced to hand it over in September 1947 u ...

, before entering Italy in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Olivetta San Michele Olivetta San Michele (Royasc: , also lij, Aoriveta) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia, on the border with France. As of 31 Decemb ...

. The remainder of its course remains within the

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

and, after crossing

Airole Airole ( lij, Airöe, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia, on the border with France. As of 31 December 2004, it had a p ...

the river enters the sea at

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

(1985), ''Atlas of the World: Comprehensive Edition'', Times Books, Plate 78 (C7). Its main tributaries are the

Lévensa The Lévensa is a mountain river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. It is a left tributary of the Roya, which it joins near Tende Tende (; Italian, Occitan and Royasc: ''Tenda'') is a co ...

, the

Bévéra The Bévéra (in French) or Bevera (in Italian) (''Beura'' in Occitan and Ligurian) is a river of southeastern France and northwestern Italy. Geography Bévéra source is in the Maritime Alps, near Moulinet in the French Alpes-Maritimes de ...

, the

Bendola The Bendola is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. It is a left tributary of the Roya. Its source is in the Ligurian Alps, east of Saorge, near the border with Italy Italy ( it, I ...

, the

Réfréi The Réfréi is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. It flows into the Roya in Tende Tende (; Italian, Occitan and Royasc: ''Tenda'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes departmen ...

and the Maglia.

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Italy Rivers of Liguria Rivers of the Province of Imperia International rivers of Europe Rivers of Alpes-Maritimes Rivers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Drainage basins of the Ligurian Sea Rivers of the Alps {{Italy-river-stub