The Béthune () is a river of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

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 ...

, in length, flowing through the department of

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Infér ...

and it is a tributary of the

Arques Arques may refer to the following places in France: * Arques, Aude, in the Aude department * Arques, Aveyron, in the Aveyron department * Arques, Pas-de-Calais, in the Pas-de-Calais department * Arques-la-Bataille Arques-la-Bataille () is a com ...

. However, Sandre, the regulators of France's national Water Information System, consider the Béthune to be the upper part of the Arques.

Geography

The river's source is at the village of

Gaillefontaine Gaillefontaine () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A small town of farming, forestry and light industry situated by the banks of the river Béthune in the Pays de Bray, some sout ...

near to

Forges-les-Eaux Forges-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Le Fossé was merged into Forges-les-Eaux. Geography A farming and spa town, with considerable ...

. Its valley is wholly within the

pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km²) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among th ...

. Its course takes it past the communes of

Neufchâtel-en-Bray Neufchâtel-en-Bray (; Norman: ''Neucâtel-en-Bray, Le Câtel'') is a commune situated in the Seine-Maritime department of the Normandy Region, northern France. The Neufchâtel cheese is made in the area. Geography Location Neufchâtel is a ...

, Mesnières-en-Bray,

Bures-en-Bray Bures-en-Bray (, literally ''Bures in Bray'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village situated in the Pays de Bray, southeast of Dieppe, at the junction of the D1 with ...

, Osmoy-Saint-Valery, Saint-Vaast-d'Équiqueville,

Dampierre-Saint-Nicolas Dampierre-Saint-Nicolas is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village situated by the banks of the river Béthune in the Pays de Caux, some southeast of Dieppe, at the junc ...

, Saint-Aubin-le-Cauf and finally

Arques-la-Bataille Arques-la-Bataille () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. The zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (1777–1850) was born in Arques. Geography Arques is situated near the conflu ...

where it joins the rivers

Eaulne The river Eaulne is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of the eastern Pays de Caux in the Seine-Maritime ''département'' of Normandy in northern France. It is long. The Eaulne's source is at Mortemer. It then flows northwestwards th ...

and

Varenne Varenne (foaled in Copparo, Italy, 19 May 1995) is a dark bay racing trotter by Waikiki Beach out of Ialmaz by Zebu. Varenne is considered to be the best trotter of all time. No other trotter has won so many of the most important races in the ...

to form the

. Like other rivers in the region, the Béthune is classified as a first class river, offering anglers the chance to catch salmon and trout.

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Normandy Rivers of Seine-Maritime {{France-river-stub

Geography

See also

References