Gave de Pau

The Gave de Pau is a river of south-western France. It is a left tributary of the Adour river.
It takes its name from the city Pau, through which it flows. The word gave is a name given to rivers on the mountains in regions of the western Pyrenees; so, Gave de Pau means "the river of Pau" or "the river that flows through Pau". Many other rivers in the region have the word "gave" as part of their names.
Geography.
The Gave de Pau has a length of about , including the "Gave de Gavarnie", 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 at Bérenx, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.
Average monthly discharge (m3/s) at Bérenx
Course.
The Gave de Pau starts in the Cirque de Gavarnie, in the "Parc national des Pyrénées" ("Pyrénées National Park"), in the "commune" of Gavarnie, Hautes-Pyrénées department, at an altitude of about . The upper part of the river is known as "Gave de Gavarnie"; the name "Gave de Pau" is given to the river after the Gave de Gavarnie joins the Bastan river at Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
The Gave de Pau receives its main tributary, the Gave d'Oloron, in Peyrehorade and, from there, it is named as "Gaves Réunis" (United Gaves). Finally, it flows, as a left tributary, into the river Adour in the Landes department, at about of altitude.
The Gave de Pau flows through 90 "communes". It passes through the following regions, departments and "communes":
Main tributaries.
The tributaries of Gave de Pau with a length greater than are: