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The Garonne (; in Occitan
Occitan language

Occitan , known also as Lenga d'?c or Langue d'oc is a Romance languages spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain....
, Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 and Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
: Garona; ) is a river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in southwest France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 and northern Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, with a length of 575 km (357 miles).

name "Garonne" derives from an ancient form Garumna containing the Aquitanian
Aquitanian language

The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Novempopulania before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages....
 (language related to old Basque
Basque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
) root kharr-, meaning "rock", akin to modern Basque harri, "stone", and a Pre-Indo-European
Pre-Indo-European

Old Europe is a term coined by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas to describe what she perceives as a relatively homogeneous and widespread pre-Indo-European Neolithic Europe culture in Europe, particularly in Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Prehistoric Balkans....
 suffix -unn-, -onna
-onna

-onna is a presumed hydronymic suffix, perhaps pre-Indo-European. Observed in many river names, it is generally analyzed as meaning 'source, spring' or 'river'....
 which means "source, river", and which can be found in the name of many rivers in Western Europe (such as the Seine
Seine

The Seine is a slow flowing major river and commercial waterway within Regions of France of ?le-de-France and Haute-Normandie in France and famous as a romantic backdrop in photographs of Paris, France....
, the Saône, etc.).

river rises on the slopes of Pic Aneto
Aneto

Aneto is the highest mountain in the Pyrenees and in Aragon, and Spain's third highest mountain- reaching a height of . It lies in the Spain province of Huesca , the northernmost of all three Aragonese provinces....
 (near according to the season) and flows by way of a sink hole
Sinkhole

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water....
 known as the Trou de Toro or the Forau dels Aigualluts through the limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
 of the Tuca Blanco de Pomèro and a resurgence in the Val dera Artiga above the Aran Valley in the Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 Pyrenees
Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
.






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The Garonne (; in Occitan
Occitan language

Occitan , known also as Lenga d'?c or Langue d'oc is a Romance languages spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain....
, Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 and Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
: Garona; ) is a river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in southwest France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 and northern Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, with a length of 575 km (357 miles).

Origin of the name

The name "Garonne" derives from an ancient form Garumna containing the Aquitanian
Aquitanian language

The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Novempopulania before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages....
 (language related to old Basque
Basque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
) root kharr-, meaning "rock", akin to modern Basque harri, "stone", and a Pre-Indo-European
Pre-Indo-European

Old Europe is a term coined by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas to describe what she perceives as a relatively homogeneous and widespread pre-Indo-European Neolithic Europe culture in Europe, particularly in Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Prehistoric Balkans....
 suffix -unn-, -onna
-onna

-onna is a presumed hydronymic suffix, perhaps pre-Indo-European. Observed in many river names, it is generally analyzed as meaning 'source, spring' or 'river'....
 which means "source, river", and which can be found in the name of many rivers in Western Europe (such as the Seine
Seine

The Seine is a slow flowing major river and commercial waterway within Regions of France of ?le-de-France and Haute-Normandie in France and famous as a romantic backdrop in photographs of Paris, France....
, the Saône, etc.).

Geography

The river rises on the slopes of Pic Aneto
Aneto

Aneto is the highest mountain in the Pyrenees and in Aragon, and Spain's third highest mountain- reaching a height of . It lies in the Spain province of Huesca , the northernmost of all three Aragonese provinces....
 (near according to the season) and flows by way of a sink hole
Sinkhole

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water....
 known as the Trou de Toro or the Forau dels Aigualluts through the limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
 of the Tuca Blanco de Pomèro and a resurgence in the Val dera Artiga above the Aran Valley in the Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 Pyrenees
Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
. This underground route was suggested by the geologist Ramond de Carbonnières
Louis Ramond de Carbonnières

Louis Fran?ois ?lisabeth Ramond, baron de Carbonni?res , was a France politician, geologist and botanist. He is regarded as one of the first explorers of the high mountains of the Pyrenees who can be described as a pyr?n?iste.fe...
 in 1787, but there was no confirmation until 1931, when caver
Caving

Caving ? also known as spelunking ? is the recreational sport of exploring caves. In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment....
 Norbert Casteret
Norbert Casteret

Norbert Casteret was a famous French caver and adventurer, and is one of the most recognizable names in caving worldwide. Following ?douard-Alfred Martel , Casteret, along with Robert de Joly, became a leading figure of French speleology between the world wars and into the middle of the 20th century....
 poured fluorescein
Fluorescein

Fluorescein is a fluorophore commonly used in microscopy, in a type of dye laser as the gain medium, in forensics and serology to detect latent blood stains, and in dye tracing....
 dye into the flow and noted its emergence a few hours later away at Uelhs deth Joeu ("source of the Joeu" ) in the Artiga de Lin on the other side of the mountain. Until this discovery the source was considered to be in the meadows of the Plan de Beret above Baqueira
Baqueira-Beret

Baqueira Beret is a ski resort located in the heart of the Pyrenees, in the Aran Valley, Lleida . The ski area extends from 1,500 to the 2,510 meters....
, a longer but lower tributary to the east.

It follows the Aran Valley northwards into France, flowing via Toulouse
Toulouse

Toulouse is a commune of France in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea....
 and Agen
Agen

Agen is a communes of France in the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne 84 miles southeast of Bordeaux....
 towards Bordeaux
Bordeaux

is a Port city on the Garonne in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its aire urbaine at a 2008 estimate. It is the Capital of the Aquitaine regions of France, as well as the Prefectures in France of the Gironde Departments of France....
, where it meets the Gironde estuary
Gironde estuary

The Gironde is a navigable estuary , in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne River and Garonne just below the centre of Bordeaux....
. The Gironde flows into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 (Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a Headlands and bays of the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest, France south to the Spain border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Punta de Estaca de Bares, and is named for the Spanish province of Biscay....
). Along its course, the Garonne is joined by three other major rivers: the Ariège
Ariège River

The Ari?ge is a 164 km long river in southern France, right tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the Pyrenees, where it forms part of the border with Andorra....
, the Tarn
Tarn River

The Tarn River is a long river in southern France , right tributary of the Garonne.The Tarn River runs in a roughly westerly direction, from its source at an altitude of 1,550 m on Mont Loz?re in the C?vennes mountains , through the deep gorges and canyons of the Gorges du Tarn , to Moissac in Tarn-et-Garonne, where it joins the Ga...
, and the Lot
Lot River

The Lot, originally the Olt , is a river in France, right tributary of the Garonne. It rises in the C?vennes, flowing west through Quercy, where it flows into the Garonne near Aiguillon, a total distance of ....
. Just after Bordeaux, the Garonne river finally meets the Dordogne
Dordogne River

The Dordogne is a river in south-central and southwest France....
, after which the two rivers become the Gironde estuary
Gironde estuary

The Gironde is a navigable estuary , in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne River and Garonne just below the centre of Bordeaux....
, which after approximately joins the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
. Other tributaries include the Save
Save (Garonne)

The Save is a 143 km long river in southern France, left tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, south of Lannemezan....
 and the Gers
Gers River

The Gers is a 178 km long river in southern France, left tributary of the Garonne.Its source is in the foothills of the Pyrenees, near Lannemezan....
.

The Garonne is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore
Tidal bore

A tidal bore is a tide phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the current....
. Surfers and jet skiers can ride the tidal bore at least as far as the village of Cambes
Cambes

Cambes is the name of several commune in France in France:* Cambes, Gironde, in the Gironde d?partement in France* Cambes, Lot, in the Lot d?partement...
 (from the Atlantic)and even further upstream.

Towns along the river