Aa (France): Difference between revisions
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==Geography== |
==Geography== |
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[[File: River Aa location.jpg|alt=Location of river Aa|thumb|Location of the River Aa to the other rivers of Flanders, before the connecting canals were built]] |
[[File: River Aa location.jpg|alt=Location of river Aa|thumb|Location of the River Aa to the other rivers of Flanders, before the connecting canals were built]] |
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The |
The river's geography is divided into two parts. The first part, begins from its source in the [[Artois|Artois Hills]]<ref name="GL">Dubois, Claude, ed. (1960). "Aa" [Aa]. ''Grand Larousse Encyclopédique'' (in French). I: A-Bauer (First ed.). Paris, France: Librairie Larousse. p. 3.</ref> to [[Saint-Omer, Calvados|Saint-Omer]] forming a small [[chalk stream]], a small version of the [[Somme (river)|Somme]], as shown by the [[:File: River Aa location.jpg|map]] of the rivers draining the Artois plateau. This section is {{convert|56|km|miles|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=sandre2/> The second part consists of the areas from Saint-Omer to its [[River mouth|mouth]], which is approximately {{convert|29|km|miles}}.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/north/gravelines-aa|title=Inland Waterways of France|last=Edwards-May|first=David|publisher=Imray|year=2010|isbn=9781846230141|location=St Ives, UK|pages=26|edition=8th}}</ref> It is a navigable waterway connecting the [[Canal de Calais]] to [[Calais]] and the Canal de Bourbourg leading to Dunkirk, as shown by the map of the navigable waterways. The section of the river from Saint-Omer down to the junction with the main Dunkirk-Scheldt waterway is currently not in use, neither is the [[Canal de Neufossé|Canal de Neuffossé]], that heads upstream to the same main route at Arques. |
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[[File: Aa and connecting waterways.jpg|alt=navigable river Aa|thumb|Location of the navigable part of the river Aaa and connections with other waterways]] |
[[File: Aa and connecting waterways.jpg|alt=navigable river Aa|thumb|Location of the navigable part of the river Aaa and connections with other waterways]] |
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Revision as of 02:23, 24 March 2021
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| Aa | |
|---|---|
 The Aa at Merck-Saint-Liévin | |
   | |
| Native name | L'Aa (f) Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help) |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
| Mouth | |
• location | North Sea |
• coordinates | 51°0′21″N 2°6′16″E / 51.00583°N 2.10444°E |
| Length | 93 km (58 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,215 km2 (469 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 10 m3/s (350 cu ft/s) |
Aa (French pronunciation: [a]) is a river in northern France that is 93 km (58 miles) long.[1][2] It originates near the village of Bourthes, and empties into the North Sea near Gravelines. It is very close to the north-eastern limit of the English Channel. It has been canalized for most of its length and forms much of the border between the regions of Pas-de-Calais and Nord.
The word "Aa" in Old Dutch means water, and can be traced back to its original Indo-European form.[3]
Geography
The river's geography is divided into two parts. The first part, begins from its source in the Artois Hills[4] to Saint-Omer forming a small chalk stream, a small version of the Somme, as shown by the map of the rivers draining the Artois plateau. This section is 56 km (35 miles) long.[2] The second part consists of the areas from Saint-Omer to its mouth, which is approximately 29 kilometres (18 miles).[5] It is a navigable waterway connecting the Canal de Calais to Calais and the Canal de Bourbourg leading to Dunkirk, as shown by the map of the navigable waterways. The section of the river from Saint-Omer down to the junction with the main Dunkirk-Scheldt waterway is currently not in use, neither is the Canal de Neuffossé, that heads upstream to the same main route at Arques.
History
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The river is known as Agnio in Latin. Saint-Omer formerly lay at the head of its estuary while seaward, Calais lay on its western margin and Bergues, now inland from Dunkirk, on its eastern one. By the time of the Viking settlements on this coast, Dunkirk was developing on the dunes, offshore across the estuarine marsh from Bergues. Gravelines was the port at the seaward end of the river after the area of the estuary was reclaimed. The dates of these events are imprecise but the modern pattern was firmly established by 1588, the time of the Spanish Armada when an approximation to the modern course of the lowland river formed the boundary between the Spanish Netherlands and France. The river suffers significant problems from industrial discharge, as well as siltation that made the length from Saint-Omer down to the junction with the Dunkirk-Escaut waterway unnavigable from the 1970s.[6][7]
References
- ^ Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - L'Aa Canalisée (E4--001-)".
- ^ a b Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - Rivière Aa (E4030570)".
- ^ Bayer, Patricia, ed. (2000). "A". Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. I A-Anjou (First ed.). Danbury, CT: Grolier Incorporated. p. 1. ISBN 0-7172-0133-3.
- ^ Dubois, Claude, ed. (1960). "Aa" [Aa]. Grand Larousse Encyclopédique (in French). I: A-Bauer (First ed.). Paris, France: Librairie Larousse. p. 3.
- ^ Edwards-May, David (2010). Inland Waterways of France (8th ed.). St Ives, UK: Imray. p. 26. ISBN 9781846230141.
- ^ "Aa (river) / Aa, rivière de France".
- ^ Mallet, Edme-François. Aa (river) / Aa, rivière de France. p. Vol. 1 (1751), p. 6.
External links
- Aa river guide - Navigation on the canal, including Gravelines as an entry port into the French waterways network.
