Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in northwestern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long.

Name

The river's

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duria Bautica''.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

called it Δουριας (''Dourias'') in Greek. The name "Duria" is from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

root *''dubr-'' ("flow"), found in many European river names such as Douro / Duero; it derives from Proto-Indo-European *''dʰew-'' ("flow"). The second part may derive from the Illyrian root *''balta'' ("‘swamp, marsh, white clay"). In the local languages, the river is called , frp, label= Valdôtain, Djouiye;Djouiye - Site web du francoprovençal valdôtain.
/ref> pms, Deura Bàotia.

Geography

It originates by

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

as the confluence of the Dora di Ferret, fed by the Pré de Bar Glacier in

Val Ferret Val Ferret is the name shared by two valleys separated by the Col Ferret, a pass on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The valleys lie southeast of Mont Blanc Massif. The Swiss valley drains northeast towards Orsières and on into the R ...

, and the

Dora di Veny Dora may stand for: *Dora (given name) Places United States *Dora, Alabama * Dora, Arkansas *Dora, Missouri * Dora, New Mexico * Dora, Oregon * Dora, Pennsylvania *Mount Dora, Florida Other countries * Lake Dora (Tasmania) *Lake Dora (Weste ...

, fed by the Miage Glacier and

Brenva Glacier The Brenva Glacier (french: Glacier de la Brenva, it, Ghiacciaio della Brenva) is a valley glacier, located on the southern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps. It is the second longest and eighth largest glacier in Italy, and descends do ...

in Val Veny. As it crosses the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

, the Dora Baltea flows through the city of

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest o ...

(where the Buthier runs into it) and near all the main cities of the lower Aosta Valley: Châtillon, Saint-Vincent,

Verrès Verrès ( Valdôtain: ; Issime wae, Verez) is a town and '' comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy near Verrès Castle Verrès Castle ( it, Castello di Verrès, french: Château de Verrès) is a fortified 14th-century cas ...

and Pont-Saint-Martin. After it enters

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, it passes through the city of Ivrea and a good part of

Canavese Canavese (French: ''Canavais''; Piedmontese: ''Canavèis'') is a subalpine geographical and historical area of North-West Italy which lies today within the Metropolitan City of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its ca ...

, gets from its right hand the waters of the Chiusella and reaches the Po at Crescentino, a little downstream from Chivasso.

Water uses

It is a popular place for whitewater

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

. Early in the summer, in May and June, the rivers are usually high with snow melt from the mountains. During July, August and September the water levels are usually lower and the temperature warmer.

References

Rivers of Aosta Valley Rivers of the Province of Turin Rivers of the Province of Vercelli Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Alps {{Italy-river-stub

Name

Geography

Water uses

See also

References