Aude (river)

The Aude is a river of southern French. It starts in the Pyrénées mountains and ends in the Mediterranean Sea. The Aude department is named after this river.
In Roman times, the Aude was called "Atax" by the Romans. In all likelihood the current name comes from gradual changes of "Atax", a word borrowed from the Celtic "atacos" meaning "spirited" or "very fast"
Geography.
The Aude has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of approximately .
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is 41.40 cubic metres per second at Moussan.
Course.
The Aude starts in the "Massif of Carlit" at the Lac d'Aude at an elevation of in the commune of Les Angles (Pyrénées-Orientales department).
From the Pyrénées to Carcassonne, the river flows generally from south to north and then turns to the east. The river then flows into the Mediterranean Sea a few kilometres from Narbonne at Grau de Vendres (near Cabanes-de-Fleury) on the border between the departments of Aude and Hérault.
The Aude flows through 1 region, 4 departments and 75 "communes". The main "communes" are:
Main tributaries.
The main tributaries (30 km  or more long) of the Aude river are: