Po River

Po River

Infobox_River | river_name = Po



caption = The Po river
origin = Cottian Alps, Italy
mouth = Adriatic Sea
coord|44|58|12|N|12|32|49|E|name=Adriatic Sea-Po|display=inline,title
basin_countries = Italy, Switzerland
length = 652(682) km
elevation = 2022
mouth_elevation = 0
discharge = 1540 m³/s
watershed = 71,000 km²

The Po (Latin: "Padus", _it. Po, Ligurian: "Bo", Greek: "Eridanus") is a river that flows 652 km(405 miles) (682 km by considering the length of the system from the source of Maira River,a right side tributary) eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso (in the Cottian Alps) to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It has a drainage area of 71,000 km² and is the longest river in Italy.

It goes through many important Italian towns, including Turin (Torino) and (indirectly) Milan (Milano), in Lombardy. It is connected to Milan through a net of channels called "navigli", which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called "Po di Maestra", "Po della Pila", "Po delle Tolle", "Po di Gnocca" and "Po di Goro") at the southern part of which is Comacchio, an area famous for eels. The Po valley corresponds to the Roman Cisalpine Gaul, divided in Cispadane Gaul (South of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (North of the Po).

The vast valley around the Po is called the Padan plain (it: "Pianura Padana") and is so efficiently connected by the river that the whole valley became the main industrial area of the country. This river is subject to the authority of a special authority, the "Magistrato delle Acque".

The main products of the farms around the river are cereals including - unusually for Europe - rice.

In 2005, water from the Po was found to contain "staggering" amounts of benzoylecgonine, which is excreted by cocaine users in urine. Based on these figures, cocaine consumption was estimated to be about 4 kg daily, or 27 doses per day per thousand young adults in areas that feed into the river--a number nearly three times higher than previous estimates. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4746787.stm]

Tributaries

Tributaries include (R from the right side, L from the left, looking downstream):
* Pellice (L)
* Varaita (R)
* Maira (R)

* Dora Riparia (L)
* Stura di Lanzo (L)
* Orco (L)
* Dora Baltea (L)
* Sesia (L)
* Tanaro (R)
* Scrivia (R)
* Agogna (L)
* Ticino (L)
* Olona (L)
* Lambro (L)
* Trebbia (R)
* Nure (R)
* Adda (L)
* Arda (R)
* Taro (R)
* Parma (R)
* Enza (R)
* Oglio (L)
* Mincio (L)
* Secchia (R)
* Panaro (R)
* Versa

* the Reno (R) was a tributary of the Po River until the half of the XVIII century when the course was diverted to lessen the risk of devastating floods.

References

* Saltini Antonio. "Dove l'uomo separò la terra dalle acque. Storia delle bonifiche in Emilia Romagna", Diabasis, Reggio Emilia 2004, Rome, Turin, Trulli.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • River Nene — River The River Nene at Kislingbury Watermill, Northamptonshir …   Wikipedia

  • River Don, South Yorkshire — River Don The River Don as it flows past Hillsborough Stadium. Origin Pennines …   Wikipedia

  • River Hull — River The tidal barrier at the mouth of the river …   Wikipedia

  • River Oaks, Houston, Texas — River Oaks redirects here. For the city in Tarrant County, see River Oaks, Texas .River Oaks is an affluent community located in the geographic center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and halfway between Downtown and… …   Wikipedia

  • River Poulter — River The ford at Crookford, where a track crosses the Poulter …   Wikipedia

  • River Phoenix — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda River Phoenix River Phoenix en la 61º entrega de los Oscars en 1989 Nombre real River Jude Bottom Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • River trekking — or river tracing is a form of hiking or outdoor adventure activity, particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and, in some ways, similar to canyoning or canyoneering. River trekking is a combination of trekking and climbing and sometimes… …   Wikipedia

  • River Plate Buenos Aires — River Plate Voller Name Club Atlético River Plate Ort Buenos Aires Gegründet …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • River Flotilla of the Serbian Armed Forces — River Flotilla of Serbian Armed Forces Rečna Flotila River Flotilla Unit Emblem and Flag …   Wikipedia

  • river — [ rive ] v. tr. <conjug. : 1> • v. 1170; de rive « bord » 1 ♦ Attacher solidement et étroitement, au moyen de pièces de métal. ⇒ enchaîner. « C est ainsi qu ils croupissaient ensemble, rivés au même fer » (A. Daudet). ♢ Fig. Assujettir,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • River City Ransom — North American box art Developer(s) Technōs Japan (NES) SPS (X68000) KID (Super CD ROM²) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”