The Tech (; ca, Tec ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in southern

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 ...

, very close to the French-

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

border. It runs through a valley in the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean ...

, in the former

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of th ...

, and is long. Its source is the Parcigoule Valley, elevation , and it feeds the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. At

Céret Céret (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of the historic Catalan comarca of Vallespir. Geography The town lies in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, in southern France. I ...

, the medieval ''

Devil's bridge Devil's Bridge is a term applied to dozens of ancient bridges, found primarily in Europe. Most of these bridges are stone or masonry arch bridges and represent a significant technological achievement in ancient architecture. Due to their unusu ...

'', once the largest bridge arch in the world, spans the river in an arc of in length.

Geography

The Tech flows through 25 different towns, from its source to the sea:

Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, near the border with Spain and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. The name ''Prats-de-Mollo'' comes from Catalan "meadows of Molló". Mo ...

, Serralongue, Le Tech, Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, Montferrer, Corsavy,

Arles-sur-Tech Arles-sur-Tech (, literally ''Arles on Tech''; ca, Arles de Tec) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Location Arles-sur-Tech is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement o ...

Montbolo Montbolo (; ca, Montboló) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Montbolo is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Céret. Geology Montbolo once ...

Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda (; ca, Els Banys i Palaldà) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Prior to 1942, it was known as Amélie-les-Bains. It is situated in the Tech valley, and combines the old and the n ...

Reynès Reynès (; ca, Reiners) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Reynès is in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Céret. Population Talc Reynès was home to a very prod ...

Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts (; oc, Sant Joan de Pladecorts) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government ...

, Maureillas-las-Illas, Le Boulou, Tresserre,

Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines ( ca, Sant Genís de Fontanes) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines is located in the canton of Vallespir-Albères and in the arrondissement o ...

, Montesquieu-des-Albères, Banyuls-dels-Aspres, Villelongue-dels-Monts, Brouilla, Ortaffa,

Palau-del-Vidre Palau-del-Vidre (; ca, Palau del Vidre) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises o ...

Elne Elne (; ca, Elna ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called '' ...

and

Argelès-sur-Mer Argelès-sur-Mer (, literally ''Argelès on Sea''; ca, Argelers de la Marenda or ; oc, Argelers de Mar), commonly known as Argelès, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the administrative region of Occitania, France. It i ...

. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea between Saint-Cyprien and

, southeast of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

In culture

;Poetry * ''Ode au Tech'' 'Ode to the Tech''(1912), a poem by the writer Marc Anfossi. Fabricio Cardenas
Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, ''Ode au Tech en 1912''
29 May 2015

References

External links

* Rivers of Pyrénées-Orientales Céret 0Tech Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of France {{France-river-stub