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 ...
in far eastern
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 ...
which strays into western
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
Saône
The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...
. It rises near
Mouthe
Mouthe () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. The town is known for having the coldest recorded temperature in France.
Geography
The town is located south of Pontarlier in the Jura ...
in the western
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...
, at and its mouth is at
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (, literally ''Verdun on the Doubs'') is a former commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part.
Saône-et-Loire is B ...
at about above sea level. It is the tenth-longest river in France.
The most populous settlement of the basin lies on its banks,
Besançon
Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland.
Capi ...
. Its course includes a small waterfall and a narrow lake.
Course
From its source in
Mouthe
Mouthe () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. The town is known for having the coldest recorded temperature in France.
Geography
The town is located south of Pontarlier in the Jura ...
it flows northeast: a few kilometers north of the French-Swiss border, then to form the border for less distance, about 40 km. North of the Swiss town of
Saint-Ursanne
Saint-Ursanne is an old town and a former municipality of the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Switzerland which has preserved much of its medieval character. The town contains many historical buildings, including a Romanesque abbey c ...
it turns west then southwest. South-east of
Montbéliard
Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.
History
Montbéliard is ...
it adopts a southwest striation or fault of the
Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...
, flowing so over greater distance than the flow it has traced before. It then flows into the
Saône
The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...
at
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (, literally ''Verdun on the Doubs'') is a former commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.Chalon-sur-Saône
Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...
.
The shape of the course resembles the silhouette of a
terrier
Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...
sitting upright, leaning right, with the upper part of a northeastern corner "ear" the only zone in Switzerland, there reaching
Saint-Ursanne
Saint-Ursanne is an old town and a former municipality of the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Switzerland which has preserved much of its medieval character. The town contains many historical buildings, including a Romanesque abbey c ...
. In that country it borders or crosses the cantons Jura and
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
.
Waterfalls and lake
The falls known as the Saut du Doubs is on the French-Swiss border.
Nearby, the river, dammed up by landslide debris, forms the long, wide, winding lake, (le) Lac des Brenets. The -high Doubs Falls are at the lake's end. The falls can be reached on foot or by passenger boat.myswitzerland.com /ref>
The Doubs flows through the following
Departments of France
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...
,
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...
, and cities:
*
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Pontarlier
Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a Communes of France, commune and one of the two Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectures of the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern ...
*
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
Saint-Ursanne
Saint-Ursanne is an old town and a former municipality of the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Switzerland which has preserved much of its medieval character. The town contains many historical buildings, including a Romanesque abbey c ...
*
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Besançon
Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland.
Capi ...
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part.
Saône-et-Loire is B ...
(F):
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs
Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (, literally ''Verdun on the Doubs'') is a former commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
*
Loue
The Loue () is a river of eastern France, a left tributary of the Doubs, which it joins downstream of Dole. It is long. Its source is a karst spring in the Jura mountains near Ouhans, which at least partly receives its water from the Doubs. Th ...
Pontarlier
Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a Communes of France, commune and one of the two Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectures of the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern ...
The rate of flow of the Doubs is very seasonally variable. The flooding or well-watered season can stretch from September to May, caused by heavy rains or by quick melting of snow from the
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...
. At its mouth, the discharge rate can vary from as low as to over during floods.
In
Besançon
Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland.
Capi ...
, the largest floods have been in 1852 (), in 1896 () and in 1910.
Hydroelectricity
As a mountain river with substantial discharge, the Doubs has been used for electricity generation. Among several hydroelectric stations, the most important are the , tall, and the Dam of Refrain, tall.
In popular culture
The river is mentioned sixteen times in Stendhal's novel ''
The Red and the Black
''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (; meaning ''The Red and the Black'') is a psychological novel in two volumes by Stendhal, published in 1830. It chronicles the attempts of a provincial young man to rise socially beyond his modest upbringing through a c ...
List of rivers in France
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
Nature parks in Switzerland
Switzerland has eighteen official natural parks (and three candidate parks) classified in three categories (national parks, regional nature parks and nature experience parks).Sommêtres