Charente (river)

The Charente (Saintongeais: "Chérente", ) is a river in southwestern France that flows through the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Two departments, Charente and Charente-Maritime, are named after the river.
It rises in the Massif Central and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Rochefort.
Geography.
The Charente river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of approximately .
Course.
The Charente river starts in western Massif Central, in the "commune" of Chéronnac, Haute-Vienne department, at an elevation of about . It flows to the northwest for about and then flows through the north of the Charente department.
The river keeps flowing to the northwest and gets into the Vienne department. After the "commune" of Civray, the river turns to the southwest and gets back into the Charente department. After Angoulême, the river turns west and, after Cognac, to the northwest.
Finally, the river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Rochefort.
The river is (it is deep, wide and slow enough for a ship to pass), mainly with recreational boats from Angoulême to its mouth.
The Charente flows through 4 departments and 120 "communes", all in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region:
Main tributaries.
The main tributaries of the Charente river are: