The Reyran is a
torrent of the
Var department in
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its prefe ...
,
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 ...
and a tributary of the
Argens. It is an ephemeral stream, 26.8 km long, which originates in
Bagnols-en-Forêt in the Var, 12 km from
Fréjus
Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458.
It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north ...
.
The Reyran flows only three months a year and can be dry the rest of the year. Its flow is very irregular. The annual rate is 22.70 million m3 and once every 30 years reaches to only 15.75 million m3. The rate is highest during the months of December, January and April. The flow rate is sometimes zero during July and August. During the summer months, the river bed may present a series of isolated ponds that decrease in size by the day. The bed of the Reyran is made of coarse sand and
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classif ...
up to 30–40 cm. Their
lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Li ...
is that of surrounding rocks:
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
,
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
,
pegmatite
A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic co ...
,
volcanic rocks
Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...
.
Fréjus
The Reyran is piped in through the city of
Fréjus
Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458.
It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north ...
. A concrete canal was built after the
Malpasset Dam
The Malpasset Dam was an arch dam (convex surface facing upstream) on the Reyran River, north of Fréjus on the French Riviera. It collapsed on 2 December 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood. The breach was caused by a tectonic fault ...
failure. These are preventive measures of the city against flood risks. The Reyran does not cause flood plain, as
Argens, but rather exceptional torrential floods and urban run-offs as the
Garonne
The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna
or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...
and
Valescure to the neighboring town of
Saint-Raphael. A flood of this type occurred in 2012 and destroyed the concrete ford located just downstream from the highway bridge, close to the ancient hamlet of
Malpasset devastated in 1959.
[Sandre, « Fiche cours d'eau - le Reyran (Y5320500) » rchive(consulté le 12 mars 2013)]
The Frejus runs north to south and empties into the Argens at the Naval Air Base of Frejus-Saint Raphael.
References
Rivers of France
Rivers of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Rivers of Var (department)
{{France-river-stub