Saône: the story on HearLore

Saône

A sacred spring at Chalon once bore the name Sauc-Onna. Roman legionaries used this name to refer to the entire river that flows through eastern France. Monastic copyists later transformed Souconna into Saoconna over many centuries. This linguistic shift created the modern name Saône from an ancient Gallic goddess. Julius Caesar described the water as Arar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War. He noted a doubling of the Indo-European root ar for water. This repetition reflected the difficulty of identifying the direction of flow due to its slow rate. Ancient historians also recorded names like Arar and others before the current designation emerged. Northern Burgundian lands were sometimes designated as on this side or on the other side of the river depending on the author's perspective.

From Vosges To Lyon

The river rises at Vioménil at the foot of a cliff in the Vosges department. It begins at an elevation of 350 meters above sea level. Its total length spans 481 kilometers across the region. The largest tributary is the Doubs which joins near Verdun-sur-le-Doubs. Upstream of this junction the river carries the name Petite Saône. The Doubs mean annual flow rate slightly exceeds that of the Petite Saône itself. Some observers assert the Saône actually flows into the Doubs rather than vice versa. Nonetheless the Saône possesses a substantially larger watershed covering approximately 32,000 square kilometers. At 32,000 square kilometers it holds the largest watershed of any French river not flowing directly into the sea. This area covers roughly one eighteenth of metropolitan France. Cities traversed include Darney Monthureux-sur-Saône Châtillon-sur-Saône and Gray. Further downstream lie Auxonne Saint-Jean-de-Losne Seurre and Mâcon before reaching Lyon.

Seasonal Flow And Floods

What is the origin of the name Saône?

The modern name Saône derives from an ancient Gallic goddess named Sauc-Onna. Roman legionaries used this name to refer to the entire river that flows through eastern France before monastic copyists transformed it over many centuries.

Where does the Saône river rise and how long is it?

The Saône rises at Vioménil at the foot of a cliff in the Vosges department at an elevation of 350 meters above sea level. Its total length spans 481 kilometers across the region including cities such as Mâcon and Lyon.

When did the largest recorded flood occur on the Saône river?

A maximum instantaneous flow reached 7,900 cubic meters per second on the 19th of December 1982. This event followed a major flood in November 1840 which carried nearly the same estimated flow rate and destroyed numerous habitations along the river valley.

How wide is the watershed of the Saône river compared to other French rivers?

The Saône possesses a substantially larger watershed covering approximately 32,000 square kilometers. At 32,000 square kilometers it holds the largest watershed of any French river not flowing directly into the sea.

Which canals connect the Saône river to other waterways in France?

The Saône links with the Loire via the Canal du Centre and connects to the Yonne by the Canal de Bourgogne. It also joins the Marne through the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne and reaches the Rhine through the Canal du Rhône au Rhin.

Saône

From Vosges To Lyon

Seasonal Flow And Floods

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