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The Oudon is a long river in the
Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-e ...
and
Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...
'' départements'', western France. Its source is near
La Gravelle La Gravelle () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The river Oudon has its source in the commune. See also * Communes of the Mayenne department References Gravelle Michael and Sharen Gravelle w ...
. It flows generally south east. It is a
right tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drainag ...
of the
Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-e ...
into which it flows between
Le Lion-d'Angers Le Lion-d'Angers is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Andigné was merged into Le Lion-d'Angers.Grez-Neuville Grez-Neuville () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. Geography The Oudon forms part of the commune's northern border before joining the Mayenne, which flows south through the commune. See also *Communes of the Mai ...
. Its main tributary is the Verzée.


''Départements'' and communes along its course

The river flows through the following ''départements'' and localities, from source to mouth: * Mayenne:
La Gravelle La Gravelle () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The river Oudon has its source in the commune. See also * Communes of the Mayenne department References Gravelle Michael and Sharen Gravelle w ...
, Saint-Cyr-le-Gravelais,
Ruillé-le-Gravelais Ruillé-le-Gravelais () is a former commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Loiron-Ruillé.Montjean, Beaulieu-sur-Oudon,
Méral Méral () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The Oudon River forms part of the commune's north-eastern border. See also *Communes of Mayenne The following is a list of the 240 communes of the Mayenne ...
,
Cossé-le-Vivien Cossé-le-Vivien () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The river Oudon Oudon () is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population Gallery ChateauDeOudon-20120401.jpg, ...
,
La Chapelle-Craonnaise La Chapelle-Craonnaise () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Geography The river Oudon Oudon () is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population Gallery ChateauDeOudon-20120401. ...
, Athée,
Livré-la-Touche Livré-la-Touche () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Prior to October 6, 2008, it was known as Livré. Geography The river Oudon Oudon () is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department Department may refe ...
, Craon,
Bouchamps-lès-Craon Bouchamps-lès-Craon (, literally ''Bouchamps near Craon'') is a commune in the Mayenne department in northwestern France. Geography The river Oudon Oudon () is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Populatio ...
, Chérancé * Maine-et-Loire: Châtelais, L'Hôtellerie-de-Flée, Nyoiseau, Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné, Segré, La Chapelle-sur-Oudon, Andigné,
Louvaines Louvaines () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Segré-en-Anjou Bleu.Saint-Martin-du-Bois,
Montreuil-sur-Maine Montreuil-sur-Maine (, literally ''Montreuil on Maine'') is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. Geography The Oudon forms the commune's south-western border. The Mayenne flows south through the middle of the commune. ...
,
Le Lion-d'Angers Le Lion-d'Angers is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Andigné was merged into Le Lion-d'Angers.Grez-Neuville Grez-Neuville () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. Geography The Oudon forms part of the commune's northern border before joining the Mayenne, which flows south through the commune. See also *Communes of the Mai ...


Navigation

The Oudon was canalised in the 19th century from Segré to the river Mayenne, over a distance of 18 km with three locks. The waterway was used to transport timber for construction,
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...
and
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
. The river, restored to navigation in 1980, is now part of the popular Anjou river network, with the Mayenne, Sarthe and their "common trunk" of the Maine down to the river Loire.


References

{{Reflist Rivers of France Rivers of Mayenne Rivers of Maine-et-Loire Rivers of Pays de la Loire


External sources


River Mayenne (River Maine) and River Oudon
with maps and details of places, ports and moorings, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section)