Po (river)
River in Italy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Po (/poʊ/ POH, Italian: [ˈpɔ]; Latin: Padus or Ēridanus; Ancient Ligurian: Bodincus or Bodencus) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso. The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice.
| Po | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Map of the Po River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | Italy, France and Switzerland |
| Po Basin | Italy, Switzerland, France |
| Cities | Turin, Cremona, Piacenza, Ferrara |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Monte Viso |
| • location | Near Crissolo, Piedmont, Italy |
| • coordinates | 44°42′5″N 7°5′35″E |
| • elevation | 3,700 m (12,100 ft) |
| Mouth | Adriatic Sea |
• location | Near Adria, Veneto, Italy |
• coordinates | 44°57′9″N 12°25′55″E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 652 km (405 mi) |
| Basin size | 74,000 km2 (29,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 1,540 m3/s (54,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 3,100 m3/s (110,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Dora Baltea, Ticino, Adda, Oglio, Mincio |
| • right | Tanaro |
| [1][2] | |
It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to the Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge.[3] As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length is controlled with embankments.[1]
The river flows through many important Italian cities, including Turin, Piacenza, Cremona and Ferrara. 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 was the territory of Roman Cisalpine Gaul, divided into Cispadane Gaul (south of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (north of the Po).