Editing Provence (section)

=== Rivers ===
[[File:France Avignon Total 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Rhône]] at Avignon]]
The Rhône river, on the western border of Provence, is one of the major rivers of France, and has been a highway of commerce and communications between inland France and the Mediterranean for centuries. It rises as the effluent of the [[Rhône Glacier]] in [[Valais]], Switzerland, in the [[Saint-Gotthard massif]], at an altitude of 1753 m. It is joined by the river [[Saône]] at Lyon. Along the Rhône Valley, it is joined on the right bank by the rivers [[Eyrieux]], Ardèche, [[Cèze]] and [[Gardon]] (or Gard), on the left Alps bank by rivers [[Isère]], Drôme, [[Ouvèze]] and Durance. At Arles, the Rhône divides itself in two arms, forming the [[Camargue]] delta, with all branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. One arm is called the "Grand Rhône"; the other one is the "Petit Rhône".

[[File:Belvédère du Tilleul-Route des Crêtes-Gorges du Verdon.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Verdon Gorge|Gorge du Verdon]]]]
The Durance river, a tributary of the Rhône, has its source in the Alps near [[Briançon]]. It flows south-west through [[Embrun, Hautes-Alpes|Embrun]], Sisteron, Manosque, Cavaillon, and Avignon, where it meets the Rhône.

The [[Verdon River]] is a tributary of the Durance, rising at an altitude of 2,400 metres in the southwestern Alps near Barcelonette, and flowing southwest for 175 kilometres through the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var before it reaches the Durance at near [[Vinon-sur-Verdon]], south of Manosque. The Verdon is best known for its canyon, the [[Verdon Gorge]]. This limestone canyon, also called the 'Grand Canyon of Verdon', 20 kilometres in length and more than 300 metres deep, is a popular climbing and sight-seeing area.

The [[Var River]] rises near the Col de la Cayolle ({{convert|2,326|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) in the [[Maritime Alps]] and flows generally southeast for {{convert|120|km}} into the Mediterranean between Nice and [[Saint-Laurent-du-Var]]. Before Nice was returned to France in 1860, the Var marked the eastern border of France along the Mediterranean. The Var is the unique case in France of a river giving a name to a department, but not flowing through that department (due to subsequent adjustments to the department's boundaries).