The Formans () is a small river in eastern France. It rises in the

Dombes The Dombes (; ) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the provinces of France, province of Burgundy (region), Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of France, department of Ain, and b ...

plateau in the Ain department and the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region. It 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 ...

between Saint-Bernard and Trévoux. It is long.

Communes traversed

The Formans, like its main tributary, the

Morbier Morbier () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. From 1680 to 1920, Morbier was, with Morez, the centre of Comtoise clock production. It gave its name to the Morbier cheese, which is p ...

is a watercourse which links the ponds of the Dombes plateau with the Saône valley. It is fed by many bodies of water situated in Savigneux, Saint-Jean-de-Thurigneux and

Ambérieux-en-Dombes Ambérieux-en-Dombes (, literally ''Ambérieux in Dombes'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. Geography As its name suggests, ''Ambérieux-en- ...

at an altitude of 300m, which is the high point of its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. The Morbier in turn has its origin in ponds situated within the communes of Civieux bordering Saint-André-de-Corcy. The Formans takes several names (ruisseau de la Pierre, ruisseau de l'Orme), collects other

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

, and passes through

Ars-sur-Formans Ars-sur-Formans (Franco-Provençal: ''Ârs'') is a commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. Geography The village is in the south-western part of the Ain department 33 km north of Lyon and ...

and Misérieux, reaching its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Morbier at Sainte-Euphémie. The Morbier (Bief Mort / Bief lent) reaches Sainte Euphémie after passing through Rancé and Toussieux, receiving the Vignol and Caillates rivers and crossing the south of Misérieux. The confluence with the Morbier at Sainte Euphémie is the most remarkable point on the Formans. The Morbier is channeled by a dam wall up to a great lock which creates a small forebay recently used in the mouturière industry. At this point the Formans receives the Morbier's entier volume. It then passes through Saint-Didier-de-Formans, dividing the south of Saint Bernard from the north of Trévoux, to reach the Saône. Its mouth is situated at an altitude of 170m.

References

External links

Association for Management and Environmental Monitoring of the Formans
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829041104/http://www.agesef.fr/ , date=2012-08-29 Rivers of France Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Ain

Communes traversed

See also

References

External links