| Var | |
|---|---|
 Rooftops of Entrevaux and the gorge of the Var | |
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Maritime Alps |
| • elevation | 1,800 m (5,900 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Mediterranean Sea |
• coordinates | 43°39′13″N7°11′59″E / 43.65361°N 7.19972°E |
| Length | 114 km (71 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,812 km2 (1,086 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 50 to 100 m3/s (1,800 to 3,500 cu ft/s) |
The Var (French: [vaʁ] ⓘ , Occitan: [ˈbaɾ] ; Italian : Varo; Latin : Varus) is a river located in the southeast of France. It is 114 km (71 mi) long. [1] Its drainage basin is 2,812 km2 (1,086 sq mi). [2]
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The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes département for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the département named after it (see Var). This is the result of the Nice Préfecture being too small to be considered a département by itself in the administrative reshuffling of 1860. [3] Hence, some land had to be taken out of neighbouring Var region causing the eponymous département to lose its namesake. [4]
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the river had no bridges; it was the border between France and the County of Nice, then part of Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.
