The Dordogne River

November 18, 2007

Name

Contrary to appearances, the name of the Dordogne is not a recent word resulting from the names of the Dore and the Dogne. It comes from an ancient Durānius, dérived from a preceltic root dur-, dor- (as the Durance).

The medieval forms adopted a redoubled suffix -ononia : Dorononia fluvius (sixth century), Dornonia (eighth century) that evolves in Dordonia (ninth century) by a phenomenon of dissimilation, giving the impression of an etymology *Dore-Dogne.

Geography

The river rises on the flanks of Puy de Sancy (1 885 m) in the mountains of Auvergne, from the confluence of two small torrents above the town of Mont-Dore: the Dore and the Dogne. It flows generally west about 500 km through the Limousin and Périgord regions before flowing into the Gironde, its common estuary with the Garonne, at the “Ambès beak”, in the north of the city of Bordeaux.

Nature

The Dordogne is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibits the phenomenon known as a tidal bore. The Valley of the Dordogne is quite beautiful and contributes significantly to the attractiveness of the region. The main season for tourism in the Valley of the Dordogne is from June to September with July and August being high tide.

Course

The départements of France through which the Dordogne River runs, together with some towns in those départements that are on or quite near the River, are as follows:

The département of Puy-de-Dôme – the towns of Mont-Dore (near the source of the River), La Bourboule
The département of Corrèze – the towns of Argentat and Bort-les-Orgues
The département of Lot – The town of Souillac
The département of Dordogne – The towns of Beynac-et-Cazenac, Sarlat, Saint-Cyprien, and Bergerac
The département of Gironde – the towns of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and Libourne

Tributaries

Dordogne River in the PérigordMain tributaries from source to mouth:

(R) Rhue
(R) Diège
(R) Luzège
(L) Sumène
(L) Auze
(R) Doustre
(L) Maronne
(L) Cère
(R) Sourdoire
(L) Ouysse
(R) Vézère along which many of the great prehistoric caves of Southwest France are located
(R) Isle
(L) Laurence
N.B. : (R) = right tributary; (L) = left tributary

Canoeing on the Dordogne River

Written by admin · Filed Under Activities, Dordogne Videos

Exploring the REAL Dordogne

October 31, 2007

Dordogne, also known as the Perigord is without a doubt one of the most interesting and diverse
regions in the world. The Vezere Valley in the “Perigord Noir” is with it’s more than 250 UNESCO
sites of interest, the undisputed “Prehistoric Capital of the World”. Prehistoric dwellings, caves,
rock shelters and lots more, most of which are only accessible on foot.
However, Dordogne has much more to offer than just relics from the Prehistoric era, castles,
bastides, medieval towns & villages, all of these,and lots more, all in the stunning and amazing
scenery the Dordogne is famous for, hills, cliffs, windy rivers, great weather, friendly locals, and
lots more make the Dordogne one of the most interesting and exciting places in the world.

Walking Dordogne takes you to all the well kept secrets that are only accessible on foot. To see
the “Real Dordogne” you will have to get off the roads, and on the tracks. Let us take you back,
to the places our ancestors called “home” more than 260000 years ago.

For more info please visit http://www.walkingdordogne.com/