Creuse (river)

Creuse
Creuse
	La Creuse in Argenton-sur-Creuse
Native name	La Creuse (French)
Location
Country	France
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Plateau de Millevaches
• elevation	932 m (3,058 ft)
Mouth
• location	Vienne
• coordinates	47°0′22″N 0°34′7″E / 47.00611°N 0.56861°E
Length	263 km (163 mi)
Basin size	9,570 km2 (3,690 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	81 m3/s (2,900 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Vienne→ Loire→ Atlantic Ocean

The Creuse (French pronunciation: [kʁøz] ^ⓘ; Occitan: Cruesa) is a 263-kilometre (163 mi) long river in western France, a tributary of the Vienne.^[1] Its source is in the Plateau de Millevaches, a north-western extension of the Massif Central.

Course[edit]

The Creuse flows northwest through the following departments and towns:

Creuse department (named after the river): Aubusson.
Indre department: Argenton-sur-Creuse, Le Blanc.
Indre-et-Loire department : Yzeures-sur-Creuse, Descartes
Vienne department: La Roche-Posay

The Creuse flows into the Vienne about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Châtellerault. It receives its longest tributary, the Gartempe, in La Roche-Posay.

The Creuse valley is the setting for paintings by the so-called Crozant School, including works by Armand Guillaumin and a series of vivid landscapes by the Bordeaux artist Alfred Smith.^[2]

Dams and lakes[edit]

There are six hydroelectric dams on the river. Three are in the Creuse département with one at Chambon-Sainte-Croix above Anzême, one at Les Chezelles near Le Bourg-d'Hem and one at L'Âge upstream of La Celle-Dunoise. The remaining three are in the Indre including the Éguzon Dam which was opened in 1926 and was, at the time, the largest dam in Europe.^{[citation needed]} The lakes created by the dams are popular tourist destinations and several have artificial beaches and leisure facilities.^{[citation needed]}

Main tributaries[edit]

Left bank:

Right bank:

Rozeille
Petite Creuse
Bouzanne
Bouzanteuil
Suin
Claise
Esves

References[edit]

^ Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - La Creuse (L---0070)".
^ Hollis Koons McCullough, ed. (2005). "Alfred Smith". Telfair Museum of Art: collection highlights. University of Georgia Press. pp. 156–157. ISBN 0-933075-04-9.

External links[edit]

Media related to Creuse river at Wikimedia Commons

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[sandre-1] Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - La Creuse (L---0070)".

[McCullough2005-2] Hollis Koons McCullough, ed. (2005). "Alfred Smith". Telfair Museum of Art: collection highlights. University of Georgia Press. pp. 156–157. ISBN 0-933075-04-9.

[1]

[2]