The Fau or Faux, also known as ruisseau de Faux (the "creek Faux") is a small but abundant river of the department of the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

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 ...

. It is a left-bank tributary of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

Geography

The Faux has its source to the east of the town of Les Mazures in the western part of the Massif of the

() located south of the Franco-Belgian border (south of the province of

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

) at a height of 380 m. At the place where it is born, it turns south, but soon after begins a wide loop that takes it north and then northeast. After a route of 19.4 kilometers, it merges with the Meuse at

Revin Revin () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region in northern France. Revin is situated on the banks of the Meuse. The Revin Pumped Storage Power Plant is near Revin. Population Personalities Yazid Mansouri, the Alg ...

. It is fed by numerous and abundant streams which, like it, flow down from the Ardennes massif It bathes the towns of

Bourg-Fidèle Bourg-Fidèle () is a commune in the Ardennes department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division) ...

and

, but the river mostly runs in the middle of the forest.

Municipalities and townships crossed

In the Ardennes department alone, the Faux crosses the following seven municipalities, from upstream to downstream: Les Mazures (source), Sécheval,

Renwez Renwez () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territ ...

Harcy Harcy () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territo ...

Rocroi Rocroi () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort. Population History Rocroi was fortified by Francis I of France and expanded by Henry II of France. Bec ...

(confluence). The source of the Faux is in the

canton of Bogny-sur-Meuse The canton of Bogny-sur-Meuse is an administrative division of the Ardennes department, northern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Bogny-sur-Meuse. It consists of the ...

, it then crosses the

canton of Charleville-Mézières-2 The canton of Charleville-Mézières-2 is an administrative division of the Ardennes department, northern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Charleville-Mézières. It c ...

, the

canton of Rocroi The canton of Rocroi is an administrative division of the Ardennes department, northern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Rocroi. It consists of the followin ...

, and has its confluence in the

canton of Revin The canton of Revin is an administrative division of the Ardennes department, northern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Revin. It consists of the following ...

, in the

arrondissement of Charleville-Mézières The arrondissement of Charleville-Mézières is an arrondissement of France in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region. It has 157 communes. Its population is 158,005 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondiss ...

Managing body

The managing body of the Faux and its tributaries is the (EPTB) EPAMA. The Faux is part of the Meuse zone from the confluence of the

Chiers The Chiers (; lb, Kuer, german: Korn) is a river in Luxembourg, Belgium and France. It is a right tributary of the Meuse. The total length of the Chiers is aproxamately , of which in France. The source of the Chiers is near Differdange, in Lu ...

to the confluence of the

Semois The Semois (; ''Simwès'' in Walloon, often under elided form ''Smwès''; ''Semoy'', ''Sesbach'' in German, ''Setzbaach'' in Luxemburgish of Arlon; and known as the ''Semoy'' in France) is a river flowing from the Ardennes uplands of Belgium a ...

Tributaries

The Faux has seven referenced tributaries: * the Herbiaux stream (rg), with a tributary: ** the Vieux Pré stream (rg), * the Cuviseau stream (rg), with two tributaries: ** the Maillard (rg) ** the stream of Sécheval (rd), * the Le Noir stream (rg) which merges into the Vieilles Forges lake with two tributaries: ** the brook of Fond de Fallette (rg), ** the brook of Pont Gilles (rg) * the Galop stream (rg), with a tributary: ** the Gravelle stream (rg), * the Marie (rd), * the Moulins stream (rg), with two tributaries: ** the Moulin Manceau stream (rg) ** the Rond Terne stream (rg), * the Champ Fleury stream (rg) Its

Strahler number In mathematics, the Strahler number or Horton–Strahler number of a mathematical tree is a numerical measure of its branching complexity. These numbers were first developed in hydrology by and ; in this application, they are referred to as the ...

is therefore three.

Hydrology

The Faux Basin is almost entirely located in an area with high rainfall. The modulus of the river at the confluence of the Meuse is , for a small watershed of . The depth of runoff of water flowing in this basin is 579 millimeters, which is high, much higher than that of the average for France, all basins combined, and even compared to the various rivers of the Meuse basin, generally very abundant. The average of the French basin of the Meuse at Chooz, near the Faux's exit from French territory, shows a water depth of 450 millimeters.

References

{{reflist Rivers of France Rivers of Grand Est Rivers of Ardennes (department)