The Aude (; ;

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Atax'' ) is a

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 ...

of southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

that is long. Its source is in the Pyrenees mountains then runs to

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

and finally reaches the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

near

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

. The river is navigable by raft or canoe for nearly all of its length. It is registered as essential to the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

region. The river gave its name to the

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

'' department''.

Etymology

In antiquity, the ''Aude'' was called ''Atax'' by the Romans. Some authors in antiquity called the river ''Narbôn'' (e.g.

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

). In 1342 the Roussillon

Cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...

of Alart called it the ''Auda'' or the ''Ribera d'Aude''.Jacques Amiel, ''L'AUDE. Fleuve du pays cathare'', Les presses du Languedoc, Montpellier, 1999 , p. 21. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the terms ''Adice'', again ''Atax'', ''Fluvium Atacis'', ''Flumine Atace'', ''Flumen Ataze'', and ''Juxta Aditum fluvium'' were also used to designate the Aude. In all likelihood the current name comes from a gradual evolution of ''Atax'' given by

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

(in his ''Geography'', Book IV), a word borrowed from the Gallic term ''atacos'' meaning "spirited" or "very fast".

Geography

Course

The river has its source in the ''Massif of Carlit'' at the Lac d'Aude at an elevation of in the commune of Les Angles (department of

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

) and flows parallel to the Tet. The Col de la Quillane, elevation , marks the boundary of the watershed. The river then flows into the

a few kilometres from

at ''Grau de Vendres'' (near Cabanes-de-Fleury) on the border between the departments of

and

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

. At Carcassonne in the Pyrénées its course is oriented north-south. The Aude then presents the characteristics of a mountain stream as it traverses Capcir and feeds several reservoirs ( Matemale, Puyvalador) before plunging into gorges (those of Saint-Georges are the most scenic) crossing ancient terrain. Starting from Axat, after being joined by the ''Aiguette'' on the right bank and the ''Rébenty'' on the left bank, the river flows through bands of pre-Pyrénéen

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

(in the Pierre-Lys Gorges) and passes through a series of small communes: Quillan,

Espéraza Espéraza (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. It lies on the Aude just north of the foothills of the Pyrenees. Population History * The church was built during the 13th century. * One of the old pilgrimage routes ...

, Couiza, Alet-les-Bains, then

Limoux Limoux (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling wine known ...

. Downstream of this great medieval city, the Aude flows eastwards. This elbow results from a

Stream capture Stream capture, river capture, river piracy or stream piracy is a geomorphological phenomenon occurring when a stream or river drainage system or watershed is diverted from its own bed, and flows down to the bed of a neighbouring stream. This ...

, the Aude having once flowed in the valley of the Hers, indicating a deepening by an ancient hydrology following the uplifting of the Pyrénées. Source of the River Aude

From Carcassonne, the river becomes calmer following the great tectonic furrow which separates the Pyrénées ( Corbières) from the Massif Central ( Montagne Noire), receiving from these heights a series of tributaries of which the main ones are the

Orbieu The Orbieu (; ) is an long river in the Aude '' département'', in south central France. Its source is at Fourtou, in the Corbières Massif. It flows generally northeast. It is a right tributary of the Aude into which it flows between Raissac-d' ...

on the right bank, and the ''Argent-Double'' and the ''Casse'' on the left bank. From this point, bordered by the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...

and sinuous amid

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

, the Aude enters the broad alluvial plain of Narbonne with the main stream flowing to the

Gulf of Lion The Gulf of Lion or Gulf of Lions is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Catalonia in Spain with Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, extending from Begur in the west to Toulon in the east. The chief port on the gulf is ...

and some waters diverted to a network of ancient ponds before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea .

Hydrography

The Aude has a

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of that extends unevenly across six departments: Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège,

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

, Tarn, and Hérault (Haute-Garonne and Tarn are only affected by the course of tributaries and sub-tributaries of the river). Before Carcassonne, the Aude receives tributary streams of short length which often have the characteristics of mountain torrents. Starting from the prefecture of Aude department in the lower valley the Aude river joins with the largest rivers, most of them from the Montagne Noire. From upstream to downstream, the main tributaries of the Aude, longer than 10 km, are: * the Lladura or ''Lladure'' (16 km), left bank at Réal; * the Galbe (14 km), left bank at Puyvalador; * the Bruyante (14 km), left bank at Usson-les-Bains; * the Aiguette (20 km), right bank at Sainte-Colombe-sur-Guette; * the Rébenty (34 km), left bank at Saint-Martin-Lys; * the Saint-Bertrand (19 km), right bank at Quillan; * the Ruisseau de Fa or ''Faby'' (14 km), left bank at

; * the Sals (20 km), right bank at Couiza; * the Ruisseau de Castillou, right bank at Alet-les-Bains; * the Véraza, right bank at Alet-les-Bains; * the Saint-Polycarpe (13 km), right bank at

; * the Corneilla (22 km), left bank at

; * the Cougaing (17 km), left bank at

; * the Sou de Val de Daigne (30 km), left bank at Cépie; * the Lauquet (37 km), right bank at Couffoulens; * the Fresquel (63 km), left bank at

; * the Trapel (19 km), left bank at Villedubert; * the Orbiel (41 km), left bank at Trèbes; * the Argent-Double (37 km), left bank at La Redorte; * the Ognon (23 km), left bank at Olonzac; * the

(84 km), right bank at Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude; * the Cesse (54 km), left bank at Saint-Marcel-sur-Aude.

Hydrology

In its upper reaches the Aude has a ''nivo-pluvial regime'' (with a maximum flow in spring linked to snowmelt). Then from Carcassonne where the average flow rate reaches , the system is almost entirely rainfed (The flow at Grau de Vendres where it meets the Mediterranean is around .) The Aude is thus characterized in its lower course by a pluvio-nival regime of meridional type with high

baseflow Baseflow (also called drought flow, groundwater recession flow, low flow, low-water flow, low-water discharge and sustained or fair-weather runoff) is the portion of the streamflow that is sustained between precipitation events, fed to streams by d ...

in summer, in August at Moussan in the lower alluvial plain not far from the river mouth, against an average of . Heavy autumnal rains enable a rapid rise in the flow rate which peaks in February, and is supported by the spring snowmelt from the

Pyrénées The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. F ...

mountains.

Floods of 1999

Exceptional and sudden rainfall, so characteristic of the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

during the autumnal season, can be the cause of devastating floods such as those of 12 and 13 November 1999. The results of this event, which affected the lower valley of the Aude, were catastrophic: 35 victims, hundreds of people evacuated by helicopter or rescued from thousands of homes, businesses, and commercial premises which were more or less damaged, of vineyards more or less ruined, roads, drinking water networks, and sanitation were seriously affected.''The floods of November 1999 in the Aude''
on the Préfecture of Aude website. The scale of the disaster was due to the combination of two factors:

Thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

s with rainfall on an unprecedented scale. Up to fell in two days at Lézignan-Corbières, that is to say more than the average annual total. In addition, a strong storm in the Gulf of Lyon led to a rise of in the sea level and, combined with the strong waves and wind, prevented the flow of water already swollen by the torrential rains.

Floods of 2018

Remnants of Hurricane Leslie fed a quasi-stationary

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

over southwestern France, generating heavy thunderstorms and leading 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 and snow. Flash f ...

ing in that area.. The Aude rose to a height of , its highest level since 1891.

received of rainfall within five hours; water level in the city rose during that period. At least 14 people died because of the flash flood, mainly in the town of Villegailhenc,

History or environment

Departments and towns crossed

: in the region of Capcir to Matemale, and Formiguères *

: Olonzac, Lespignan, Vendres *

: Axat, Belvianes-et-Cavirac, Quillan, Campagne-sur-Aude,

, Montazels, Couiza, Alet-les-Bains,

, Trèbes,

, Coursan, Cuxac-d'Aude, Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude *Ariège: Rouze

Bibliography

*Jacques Amiel, ''L'AUDE. Fleuve du pays cathare'', Les presses du Languedoc, Montpellier, 1999 *Jean Faure, ''The son of a radelier'', Atelier du gué, Villelongue d'Aude, 2001 ()

References

{{Authority control Rivers of France 0Aude Rivers of Aude Rivers of Pyrénées-Orientales Rivers of Occitania (administrative region)