Creuse (river)

Creuse
File:Argenton sur Cruse.jpg Creuse River in Argenton-sur-Creuse
Origin	Plateau de Millevaches
Mouth	Vienne
Basin countries	France
Length	264 km (164 mi)
Source elevation	932 m (3,058 ft)
Avg. discharge	81 m3/s (2,900 cu ft/s)
Basin area	9,570 km2 (3,690 sq mi)

The Creuse (Occitan: Cruesa) is a 264-kilometre (164 mi) long river in western France, a tributary of the river Vienne. Its source is in the Plateau de Millevaches, a north-western extension of the Massif Central.

Course

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 river Vienne about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Châtellerault. A tributary of the river Creuse is the Gartempe.

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.

Dams and lakes

Diagram of the Creuse Dams

There are six hydroelectric dams on the river. Three are in the Creuse département with one at Chambon-Sainte-Croix above Anzeme, 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. The lakes created by the dams are popular tourist destinations and several have artificial beaches and leisure facilities.

Main tributaries

Left bank:

• Beauze
• Sédelle
• Gartempe

Right bank:

• Rozeille
• Petite Creuse
• Bouzanne
• Bouzanteuil
• Suin
• Claise
• Esves

References

• http://www.geoportail.fr
• The Creuse at the Sandre database