- Vilaine
Infobox River | river_name = Vilaine
caption = The Vilaine inVitré, Ille-et-Vilaine .
origin =Brittany
mouth =Atlantic Ocean
coord|47|30|20|N|2|29|57|W|name=Atlantic Ocean-Vilaine|display=inline,title
basin_countries =France
length = 218 km
elevation = 153 m
discharge = 80 m³/s
watershed = 10,882 km²The Vilaine ( _br. Gwilen) is ariver inBrittany , in the west ofFrance . The river's source is in theMayenne "département" (53), and flows out in theAtlantic Ocean atPénestin in theMorbihan "département" (56). It is 218 km long. The river is joined to the Rance by means of theIlle-Rance Canal by the commune ofÉvran .Course of the river
The river passes through 4 "départements" (
Mayenne ,Ille-et-Vilaine ,Loire-Atlantique andMorbihan ) and 4 main towns (Rennes , Vitré, Redon andLa Roche-Bernard ).Three barrages were built around
Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine to avoid floods, the drinkable water and leisure spaces:*
1978 Valière barrage
*1982 Haute-Vilaine barrage
*1995 Villaumur barrageHydrology
The river has a flow ranging between 2 and 1500 m3/s
Navigation
The Vilaine is part of Brittany's canal system. The section from Rennes to the Atlantic Ocean is navigable for smaller craft. In Rennes the river connects to the Canal d'Ille et Rance, in Redon it crosses the
Canal de Nantes à Brest . (Source: [http://www.noordersoft.com/indexen.html NoorderSoft Waterways Database)]Main tributaries
*
Ille -Vaunoise
* Seiche
* Oust
* IsaacReferences
*http://www.geoportail.fr
* [http://sandre.eaufrance.fr/app/chainage/courdo/htm/J---006-.php?cg=J---006- The Vilaine at the Sandre database]
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