Falleron (river)
{{Short description|French coastal river}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Falleron
| image = Falleron au Collet.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| map =
| native_name = {{native name|fr|Falleron}}
| image_caption = Mouth of the Falleron at the port of Collet
| mouth_location = Bay of Bourgneuf at Port du Collet
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|47|01|45|N|1|59|0|W|format=dms|display=inline,title|name=Falleron}}
| progression =
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = France
| subdivision_type2 = Departments
| subdivision_name2 = Loire-Atlantique, Vendée
| length_km = 52
| source1 =
| source1_location = Grand'Landes
| source1_elevation = {{convert|60|m|abbr=on}}
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|46|51|18|N|01|39|04|W}}
| tributaries_left = {{hlist|}}
| tributaries_right = {{hlist|}}
| discharge1_avg =
| basin_size_km2 = 419
}}
The Falleron ({{IPA|fr|falʁɔ̃}}) is a French coastal river forming the boundary between the departments of Vendée and Loire-Atlantique and flowing into the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Ocean via the Bay of Bourgneuf.
Geography
The Falleron is 52 km long,{{lang|fr|{{sandre|N01-0300|Le Falleron|consulté le=23 May 2014}}}} (in French.) from its source at an altitude of {{convert|60|m}}, in the town of Grand'Landes in the Vendée department flowing west to its mouth in the Bay of Bourgneuf at the {{ill|Port du Collet|fr}}.{{cite web |title=Présentation géographique de l'hydraulique du Sud de la Loire |lang=fr |trans-title= Geographical presentation of hydraulics in the South of the Loire |url=http://sahsudloire.fr/spip.php?rubrique13 |publisher=Syndicat d’Aménagement Hydraulique du Sud Loire |access-date=14 January 2022}}{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Joanne |title=Dictionnaire géographique et administratif de la France et de ses colonies |lang=fr |trans-title=Geographic and administrative dictionary of France and its colonies |volume=3 E–K|url={{Google books |ZBiiIHvBH9AC|page=1445 |plainurl=true}} |location=Paris |publisher=Hachette |year=1894 |page=1445}}
Hydrography
The main tributaries of the Falleron upstream of Machecoul, from upstream to downstream are {{lang|fr|la Gautrelière}} ({{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}}),{{sandre|N0114100|la Gautrelière|consulté le=1 July 2022}} whose confluence on the right bank lies to the east of the eponymous town of Falleron and which marks the start of the boundary between Loire-Atlantique on the right bank and Vendée on the left. To the west of Falleron town {{lang|fr|le Marchais}} ({{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}}) joins on the left bank.{{sandre|N0115000|le Marchais|consulté le=1 July 2022}} At Saint-Etienne-de-Mer-Morte the {{lang|fr|ruisseau de la Blanchardière}} ({{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}} joins on the left bank and defines a further section of the departmental boundary.{{sandre|N0116000|ruisseau de la Blanchardière|consulté le=1 July 2022}}
At Machecoul, the {{convert|3.3|km|mi}} long {{lang|fr|Canal d’Amenée}} ("Supply canal") or {{lang|fr|Canal d'Irrigation}} ("Irrigation canal"), constructed before the end of the 18th century,{{cite web|url=https://remonterletemps.ign.fr/comparer/basic?x=-1.794568&y=46.993874&z=14&layer1=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.CASSINI&layer2=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.PLANIGNV2&mode=doubleMap|title=Remonter le temps |language=fr |website=Géoportail|publisher=IGN |access-date=6 August 2022}} links the right bank of the Falleron with the left bank of the {{ill|Tenu (river)|lt=Tenu|fr|Tenu}} and, via series of pumps and sluices, helps maintain the water levels in the Marais Breton during dry periods. The gradient of the Tenu is so slight that fresh water can be diverted from the Loire at high tide this far upstream. A pumping station at La Pommeraie, built in 1962, raises water the remaining {{convert|3|m|ft}} from the Tenu to the Falleron.{{sandre|---11002|Canal d'Irrigation|consulté le=1 July 2022}}{{citation |first=Clotilde |last=Holman |title=La prise en compte du patrimoine hydraulique et de son environnement dans le cadre de l'élaboration du schéma de cohérence territoriale (S.C.O.T.) du Pays de Retz |url=https://www.culture.gouv.fr/content/download/24246/file/patrimoine%20hydraulique.pdf| lang=fr |trans-title=Taking the hydraulic heritage and its environment into account as part of the development of the scheme of territorial coherence (S.C.O.T.) of the Pays de Retz |publisher=University of Nantes |type=thesis |date=2007}}{{cite web |url=http://sahsudloire.fr/spip.php?rubrique13 |title=Présentation géographique de l'hydraulique du Sud de la Loire |lang=fr |trans-title=Geographical presentation of the hydraulics of the south of the Loire |publisher=SAHSL|access-date=28 June 2022}} The canal increasingly serves to drain Machecoul during periods of intense rainfall.{{cite news|url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/machecoul-saint-meme-44270/le-canal-damenee-a-un-role-nouveau-proteger-machecoul-ed1d9786-fc93-42df-968f-5c38297a38d7 |title=Machecoul-Saint-Même. « Le canal d'amenée a un rôle nouveau : protéger Machecoul » |lang=fr|trans-title=Machecoul-Saint-Even. “The supply channel has a new role: to protect Machecoul” |newspaper=Ouest France|date=15 October 2021}}
Downstream of Machecoul the Falleron opens into the marshes and polders of the Marais Breton, and divides and connects with a complex network of freshwater and semi-tidal creeks and canals. On the right bank {{lang|fr|l'étier de la Gravelle}} ({{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}}) and {{lang|fr|l'étier de la salle}} ({{convert|13|km|mi|abbr=on}}) form the core of a section to the north.{{sandre|N0125002|étier de la Gravelle|consulté le=1 July 2022}}{{sandre|N0125000|étier de la Salle|consulté le=1 July 2022}} The main channel of the Falleron divides, the southern branch ({{lang|fr|l'étier du Chiron Boileau}}) being joined to {{lang|fr|l'étier de la Taillé Gouine}}.{{sandre|N0125602|étier de la Taillé Gouine |consulté le=1 July 2022}} The channels reunite at Port de la Roche and are re-joined by the étier de la Salle on the right bank. Further downstream the Dain canal joins on the left bank and flows {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} south-west around the former isle and town of Bouin reaching the Bay of Bourgneuf at L'Epoids.{{sandre|N0135002|canal le Dain|consulté le=1 July 2022}} The Falleron itself flows northwest from the confluence of the Dain canal, joined on the right bank by {{lang|fr|l’étier de fresne}} and {{lang|fr|l’étier de la charreau blanche}} which, with its tributary, {{lang|fr|l’étier du gros baron}}, drain the areas around Bourgneuf-en-Retz and Les Moutiers-en-Retz.{{sandre|N0127002|étier de la charreau blanche|consulté le=1 July 2022}}{{sandre|N0126702|étier du gros baron|consulté le=1 July 2022}}{{sandre|N0127102|étier du gros baron|consulté le=1 July 2022}} The Falleron flows into the Bay of Bourgneuf at the Port du Collet.
Communes crossed
The Falleron crosses or constitutes the limit of the following municipalities:
- Grand'Landes (Vendée);
- Falleron (Vendée) and Touvois (Loire-Atlantique);
- Froidfond, La Garnache (Vendée) and Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte (Loire-Atlantique);
- Paulx (Loire-Atlantique);
- Machecoul (Loire-Atlantique);
- Bois-de-Céné (Vendée) and Bourgneuf-en-Retz (Loire-Atlantique);
- Bouin (Vendée) and Les Moutiers-en-Retz (Loire-Atlantique).
See also
{{commonscatinline|Falleron (fleuve)|Falleron (river)}}