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 ...
located in the southeast of
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 is long. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
is .Bassin versant : Var (Le) Observatoire Régional Eau et Milieux Aquatiques en PACA
The Var flows through the
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
''
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 ...
'' for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...
''département''. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the ''département'' named after it (see Var). This is the result of the Nice Préfecture being too small to be considered a ''département'' by itself in the administrative reshuffling of 1860. Hence, some land had to be taken out of neighbouring Var region causing the eponymous ''département'' to lose its namesake''.''
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the river had no bridges; it was the border between France and the
County of Nice
The County of Nice (; ; Niçard ) was a historical region of France and Italy located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. It was part of the Savoyard state within the Holy Roman Emp ...
The river name is attested in Latin as ''Vārus'' and in Ancient Greek as ''Ouãros'' (Οὐᾶρος). It stems from the
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
root *''uōr''- (earlier ''*uer-''), meaning 'water, river' (cf. Sanskrit ''vār'', Old Norse ''vari'').
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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
between
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionSaint-Laurent-du-Var. Its main tributaries are the Cians, the
Tinée
The Tinée (; ) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .Vésubie, the Coulomp, the Estéron, the Tuébi, the Chalvagne, the Barlatte, the Bourdous and the
Roudoule
The Roudoule (; ) is a long river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of south-eastern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and t ...
.
The Var flows through the following départements and towns:
*
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
:
Guillaumes
Guillaumes (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories i ...
*
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...