The Arve (french: L'Arve, ) is a river in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

(''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Ann ...

), and Switzerland (

canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

). A left tributary of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, it is long, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is , of which 80 km² in Switzerland. Its average discharge in Geneva is . Rising in the northern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

, close to the Swiss border, it receives water from the many

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s of the

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

valley (mainly the Mer de Glace) before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, where its much higher level of silt brings forth a striking contrast between the two rivers. The Arve flows through

, Sallanches,

Oëx Oëx is a village in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, below Pointe d'Areu in the Arve valley. It is part of the commune Magland in Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, A ...

, Cluses, Bonneville,

Annemasse Annemasse (; Arpitan: ''Anemâsse'') is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relatively small territory (4.98 km2 or 1.92 sq mi), it is Haute-Savoie's second ...

and Geneva. Tributaries include, from source to mouth:

Arveyron The Arveyron is a left tributary to the river Arve, rising in the famous Mer de Glace just above Chamonix in south-eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also ...

, Diosaz, Bon-Nant, Sallanche, Giffre, Borne, Menoge, Foron, Seymaz and

Aire Aire may refer to: Music * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places *Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in the Pas-de-Calais département in France *Aire-la-Ville, a municip ...

Gallery

Image:Rhône and Arve Junction.jpg, The Arve (right) meets the

Image:Arve à Chamonix.jpg, The Arve in Chamonix

References

Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of France Rivers of Haute-Savoie International rivers of Europe Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of the canton of Geneva Rivers of the Alps {{Switzerland-river-stub