The Varaita (; ; ) is a river of the

Province of Cuneo The province of Cuneo (; ) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west, it borders the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes), to the north the ...

in northwest

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is the first right tributary of the

Po River The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...

Geography

The river springs at an elevation of some on the slopes of

Monviso Monte Viso or Monviso (; ; or simply ) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peak ...

, in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...

near the French border, then proceeds through the valley named after it—the Valle Varaita—where it passes through centres including Frassino, Sampeyre, Brossasco and Costigliole Saluzzo. Having entered the plains of the

Po valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

it joins the Po near Casalgrasso.

Regime

The regime is typical of an Alpine torrent: the flow is at its greatest in spring and in autumn while being drastically reduced during the summer. The mean discharge at its confluence with the Po is about .

Notes

:''This article was originally translated from its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia, specifically fro
this version
'' Rivers of the Province of Cuneo Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Alps {{Italy-river-stub