The Sioule (; ) is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the river

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

. Its source is near the village of Orcival, north of Mont-Dore, in the Massif Central. The Sioule has cut a deep

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

, especially in its upper course. The Sioule flows generally northeast through the following

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and towns: *

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Pontgibaud *

: Ébreuil,

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule (, literally ''Saint-Pourçain on Sioule''; Auvergnat dialect, Auvergnat: ''Sant Porçanh de Siula'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Allier Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in centra ...

The Sioule flows into the river Allier at La Ferté-Hauterive, 10 km (6 mi) north of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. Its main tributaries are the Sioulet and the Bouble. The Fades viaduct, the tallest railway bridge in France, is located on the Sioule.

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Allier Rivers of Puy-de-Dôme {{France-river-stub