Tech (river)

The Tech (French: [tɛk] ^ⓘ; Catalan: Tec [ˈtɛk]) is a river in southern France, very close to the French-Spanish border. It runs through a valley in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the former Roussillon, and is 84.5 kilometres (52.5 mi) long.^[1] Its source is the Parcigoule Valley, elevation 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), and it feeds the Mediterranean Sea. At Céret, the medieval Devil's bridge, once the largest bridge arch in the world, spans the river in an arc of 45 metres (148 ft) in length.

Tech
Pont du Diable, spanning the Tech, in Céret
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Location
Country	France
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Pyrenees
• elevation	±2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Mouth
• location	Mediterranean Sea
• coordinates	42°35′24″N 3°2′43″E
Length	84.5 km (52.5 mi)
Basin size	750 km2 (290 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	9.6 m3/s (340 cu ft/s)

Geography

The Tech flows through 25 different towns, from its source to the sea: Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste, Serralongue, Le Tech, Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, Montferrer, Corsavy, Arles-sur-Tech, Montbolo, Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Reynès, Céret, Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, Maureillas-las-Illas, Le Boulou, Tresserre, Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines, Montesquieu-des-Albères, Banyuls-dels-Aspres, Villelongue-dels-Monts, Brouilla, Ortaffa, Palau-del-Vidre, Elne and Argelès-sur-Mer. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea between Saint-Cyprien and Argelès-sur-Mer, southeast of Perpignan.^[1]

In culture

Poetry

• (in French) Ode au Tech [Ode to the Tech] (1912), a poem by the writer Marc Anfossi.^[2]