The

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Ternoise (; ) is one of the small chalk streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, via the

Canche The river Canche (; ) is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the English Channel, of which the Somme is the largest example. It is long. The basin of the Canche extends to and lies in the sou ...

, into the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. The basin of the Ternoise extends to and lies in the southern end of the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

. It is one of the rivers of the

Seven Valleys ''The Seven Valleys'' ( ''Haft-Vádí'') is a book written in Persian by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. ''The Seven Valleys'' follows the structure of the Persian poem ''The Conference of the Birds''. ''The Seven Valleys'' i ...

tourist area and gives its name to the Ternois area.

Geography

The long river rises at Ligny-Saint-Flochel and passes through

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Ternoise''; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Saint-Po-su-Térnoèse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. It is the seat of th ...

to join the river

Huby-Saint-Leu Huby-Saint-Leu () is a former commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. On 1 January 2025, it was merged into the new commune of Hesdin-la-Forêt. Geography Huby-Saint-Leu lies to the north of Hesdin, and ...

, near to the town of

Hesdin Hesdin (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. On 1 January 2025, it was merged into the new commune of Hesdin-la-Forêt. Geography The N39, from Arras to Montreuil ...

Towns and villages along the course

The Ternoise flows through the following places (all within the

department): * Ligny-Saint-Flochel,

Roëllecourt Roëllecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Roëllecourt lies east of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, some west of Arras, at the junction of the D8 and N39 roads. Population Places ...

Saint-Michel-sur-Ternoise Saint-Michel-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Michel on Ternoise'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Saint-Michel-sur-Ternoise is an eastern suburb of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, on t ...

Gauchin-Verloingt Gauchin-Verloingt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated in the valley of the Ternoise river, northwest of Arras, at the junction of the D343 and the D100 ...

Hernicourt Hernicourt (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A commune made up of three farming villages (Sautricourt, St.Martin and Hernicourt) that surround the neighbouring commune of Wavra ...

Wavrans-sur-Ternoise Wavrans-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Wavrans on Ternoise'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northwest of Arras on the banks of the river Ternoise. Population See also *Communes of th ...

Monchy-Cayeux Monchy-Cayeux (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France northwest of Arras, in the Ternoise river valley. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a ...

Anvin Anvin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography Anvin is a farming village located in the Ternoise river valley, 28 miles (44 km) northwest of Arras, at the junction of the D343, D70 and D94 roads. Po ...

Teneur Teneur () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Teneur lies northwest of Arras, at the junction of the D97 and D94 roads, by the banks of the river Ternoise. Population Places of in ...

Érin Érin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Situation Érin is a small village on the south side of the small river, the Ternoise which flows through St.Pol-sur-Ternoise and joins the River Ca ...

Tilly-Capelle Tilly-Capelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France in the Ternoise valley, northwest of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a list of the ...

Blangy-sur-Ternoise Blangy-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Blangy on Ternoise'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography Situated some 9 miles(15 km) northwest of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, on the D94 ...

Blingel Blingel () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A small village situated some 5 miles(8 km) northeast of Hesdin at the D94 and D107 crossroads. Population See also *Co ...

, Rollancourt,

Auchy-lès-Hesdin Auchy-lès-Hesdin (, literally ''Auchy near Hesdin'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department and Hauts-de-France region of France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Oversea ...

Le Parcq Le Parcq () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, in the valley of the Ternoise river. Administration On 1 January 2007, Le Parcq became ...

, Grigny and

Tributaries

The Faux and the Eps are the only principal watercourses joining the Ternoise.

Hydrological Information

The Ternoise is a very uniform river. Seasonal flow fluctuations are not very marked, similar to the Canche or the Somme, its neighbours. The higher water flows occur at the end of winter and in the spring. Average flows vary between 3.44 m³ per second in September to 5.36 m³ per second in March.

Gallery

Image:Ternoise-hernicourt.JPG, The Ternoise at

Image:auchy.jpg, The Ternoise at

Image:TernoiseAnvinA.JPG, The Ternoise at

Image:TernoiseAnvinB.JPG, At Anvin, further upstream

References

External links

*''Carte Géologique de la France à l'échelle du millionième'' 6th edn. BRGM (2003)
Banque Hydro - Station E5406510 - La Ternoise à Hesdin (option Synthèse)

Carte des bassins versants de la Canche et de la Ternoise Informations sur les atlas des zones inondables
{{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of the Pas-de-Calais Rivers of Hauts-de-France