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The Durance (''Durença'' in Occitan or ''Durènço'' in Mistralian) is a major river in south-eastern France. Its source is in the south-western Alps, in Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon and it flows south-west through the following ''départements'' and cities: * Hautes-Alpes: Briançon, Embrun. * Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Sisteron, Manosque. * Vaucluse: Cavaillon, Avignon. * Bouches-du-Rhône. The Durance's main tributaries are the Bléone and Verdon rivers. The Durance itself is a tributary of the Rhône River and flows into the Rhône near Avignon. The Durance is the second longest (after the Saône) of the tributaries of the Rhône and the third largest in terms of its flow (after the Saône and Isère). == Etymology == The Durance is documented in Ancient Greek as and in Latin as ラテン語:''Druentia'' (1st century), ラテン語:''Durantia'' (854, 1271) and ラテン語:''Durentia'' (1127). The traditional forms are probably derivatives of '' *Dūrantia'', based on the Celtic "dour" (water) and suffix "ant" (stream). The Latin form ラテン語:''drou'' ("hard") changed into the Old French "dur".〔"Toponomie de la Drome, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Communes, Peuples Anciens, Fleuves, Rivieres, Montagnes du Departement de la Drome", ''Bulletin de la Societe d'Archeologie et de Statistique de la Drome'', p. 162.〕 Similar names are found in the names of many rivers in the Western Alps: Dora in Italy, Dranse in Haute-Savoie, and the Drôme in south-eastern France. All these rivers have their sources in mountains, and are fast-running. The Durance retains its name rather than either the Clarée or Guisane, even though the latter two are longer than the Durance when they each merge. The Durance is better known than the other two rivers because the Durance valley is an old and important trade route, whereas the valleys of the Clarée and Guisane are effectively dead ends. == Hydrography == The Durance is long from its source at the foot of Sommet des Anges, at high,〔Clébert & Rouyer, ''Durance'', p.20.〕 above Montgenèvre, to its confluence with the Rhône. However, a longer route is traced by the Clarée-Durance system with a length of . Its descent is unusually rapid at 81 m/km (165 ft/mi) in its first , then 15 m/km (30 ft/mi) to its confluence with the Gyronde,〔Clébert & Rouyer, ''Durance'', p.35.〕 and then still nearly 8 m/km (16 ft/mi) to the confluence with the Ubaye. This descent stays relatively steep after this confluence, then shallows to approximately 0.33% in its middle course (to the Mirabeau bridge), then 0.24% in its lower course. For comparison, at approximately from its source, the Isère is at altitude and the Durance at , which contributes partially to its fast-flowing nature, including in the lower part of the river. It drops from its source to Mirabeau〔Guy Barruol, p.24.〕 and approximately from its source to the confluence with the Rhône. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Durance」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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