The Sarthe () is a river in western France. Together with the river

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and I ...

it forms the river

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, which is a tributary to the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

. Its source is in the

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department, near

Moulins-la-Marche Moulins-la-Marche is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Orne department The following is a list of the 385 communes of the Orne department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

. It flows generally southwest, through the following departments and towns: *

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe,

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

Fresnay-sur-Sarthe Fresnay-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Fresnay on Sarthe'') is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Coulombiers and Saint-Germain-sur-Sarthe were merg ...

Beaumont-sur-Sarthe Beaumont-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Beaumont on Sarthe''; pre- revolutionary name: ''Beaumont-le-Vicomte'') is a commune in the Sarthe department and Pays de la Loire region of north-western France. The residents of Beaumont are known in Frenc ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

Sablé-sur-Sarthe Sablé-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Sablé on Sarthe''), commonly referred to as Sablé, is a commune in the Sarthe department, in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. It is about 50 km northeast of Angers. Population Geography Th ...

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-et ...

Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Les Hauts-d'Anjou.Tiercé Tiercé () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. See also * Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 177 communes of the Maine-et-Loire department of France. The communes cooperate ...

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

Its main tributaries are the

Loir The Loir () is a long river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir department, north of Illiers-Combray. It joins the river Sarthe in Briollay, north of the city of Angers. It is indirectl ...

and the Huisne from the left, and the Vaige, the

Erve Erve (locally ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southeast of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 758 and an area of .All demogra ...

and the

Vègre The Vègre () is an long river in the Sarthe department in western France. Its source is near Rouessé-Vassé. It flows generally south. It is a right tributary of the Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire ...

from the right.

Navigation

The Sarthe has 20 weirs and locks. The channel is well marked and navigation is straightforward, except for the risk of shoals in certain sections.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Sarthe River
River Sarthe
with further maps and expanded details (by the author of 'Inland Waterways of France')
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) Rivers of France Rivers of Maine-et-Loire Rivers of Orne Rivers of Sarthe Rivers of Normandy Rivers of Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia