The New Student's Reference Work/Garonne

Garonne (gȧ′rōn′), the principal river in the southwest of France, rises within the Spanish frontier in the Pyrenees, 6,142 feet above the sea. Flowing in a general northwesterly direction, it is joined by several tributaries, and widening into the estuary which bears the name of the Gironde, about 50 miles long, enters the Atlantic at Pointe de Grave. The total length is about 346 miles, and it drains an area of some 22,020 square miles. Ocean-steamers go up the river as far as Bordeaux and small craft as far as Cazeres. At Toulouse it is joined by the Central Canal, which, running eastward to the Mediterranean, forms with the Garonne a means of communication between that sea and the Atlantic. The valley of the Garonne is noted for its beauty.