The Gave de Pau () is a

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 ...

of south-western

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 ...

. It takes its name from the city of Pau, through which it flows. The river is long ( including the

Gaves réunis The Gaves réunis () is a 9.4 km river in southwestern France connecting Peyrehorade to the Adour at Bec du Gave. It is formed by the confluence of the Gave de Pau and the Gave d'Oloron. It is navigable for 8 km from the confluence with the ...

), and although its source is considered to be on the

Cirque de Gavarnie __NOTOC__ The Cirque de Gavarnie () is a cirque in the central Pyrenees, in Southwestern France, close to the border of Spain. It is within the commune of Gavarnie, the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Pyrénées National Park. Major ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains waters feed it from the slopes of Monte Perdido in Spain. From the Lago Helado on the slopes of Perdido water works through a cave system to emerge from the Resurgence Brulle via the Grotte Devaux on the French side of the border. The Gave de Pau joins the

Gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron () is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade ...

Peyrehorade Peyrehorade (; ) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Peyrehorade station has rail connections to Bayonne, Pau and Tarbes. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The followi ...

to form the about long

(united Gaves), which is a left tributary of the

Adour The Adour (; ; ) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High- Bigorre ( Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. is known as the ' ...

. The Gaves réunis is often considered to be part of the Gave de Pau. Its main tributaries are the

Béez The Béez,also known as ''Béès'' or ''Bez'' is a left tributary of the Gave de Pau, in Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France. It flows into the Gave de Pau upstream from Pau, between the Ouzoum and the Luz. It is long. ...

, the Néez, the

Ouzoum The Ouzoum () or Ouzom () is a left tributary of the Gave de Pau, in the Southwest of France, between the Génie longue and the Béez. It is long. It flows into the Gave in Nay, upstream from Pau. Name Historical graphies were oscillating ...

and the

Ousse Ousse (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. In 1973, it was merged into the commune Idron-Lée-Ousse-Sendets (renamed Idron-Ousse-Sendets after Lée left the commune in 1989) with three other commu ...

. The Gave de Pau flows through the following ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

s'' and towns: *

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...

Argelès-Gazost Argelès-Gazost (; ) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. The Pyrénées Animal Park is located in Argelès-Gazost. Population Climate See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées de ...

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

. *

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

: Pau,

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

. * Landes:

References

Gave de Pau basin Rivers of France Rivers of Hautes-Pyrénées Rivers of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Rivers of Landes (department) Rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Nouvelle-Aquitaine region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{France-river-stub