The Risle (; less common: ''Rille'') is a long
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 ...
in
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, left tributary of the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
.
The river begins in the
Orne
Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.[L'Aigle, crosses the western part of the department of ]Eure
Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.[estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...]
of the Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
on the left bank near Berville-sur-Mer. Its upper valley is part of the Pays d'Ouche, its lower valley separates the regions of the Lieuvin and Roumois.
The Risle is regarded as a coastal river. Fishing is common downstream at Pont-Audemer.
The river and surrounding areas are parts of a protected Natura 2000 site called Risle, Guiel, Charentonne Risle, Guiel, Charentonne is a Natura 2000 site around the rivers and valleys of the Risle, Charentonne, Guiel and their tributaries and valleys of these rivers.
Geography
The area is 4,747 hectares in size and is mostly within the Eure departm ...
.
On July 30, 2012, the Risle vanished in a ponor
A ponor is a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages; they may be found in Karst topography, karst landscapes where the geology and the geomorphology is typically dominated by porous limestone rock. Ponors can drain s ...
between La Ferrière-sur-Risle and La Houssaye. It runs underground for .