The Eyrieux () is a tributary of the Rhône in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.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 ar ...

. The Eyrieux runs for . It begins in the Massif Central and joins the Rhône just downstream of

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

. The Eyrieux has at least three distinct landscapes. Above Le Cheylard, the plateau is marked by the sugarloaf cones of old volcanoes, and the land is used mostly for raising cattle and sheep. In its middle section, down to Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut and Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux, the river is torrential and prone to

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

s and extreme variation. Formerly used for silk mills, it is now used for micro-hydroelectric production, and is a popular spot for canoeing. The river never dries up in summer, as the many dams and barrages maintain a steady flow. The lower section to the Rhône, at

Beauchastel Beauchastel () is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Beauchastellois'' or ''Beauchastelloises''. Geography Beauchastel is located some 10&n ...

and La Voulte-sur-Rhône, opens into the valley and allows intensive farming, especially peach orchards which are best viewed when the trees bloom in the spring.

References

Massif Central Rivers of France Rivers of Ardèche Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes {{France-river-stub