Gardon
River in southern France
title: "Gardon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-france", "rivers-of-gard", "rivers-of-lozère", "rivers-of-occitania-(administrative-region)"] description: "River in southern France" topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in southern France ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Gardon |
| image | Pont Du Gard2.jpg |
| image_caption | The Gardon near the Pont du Gard |
| map | Gardon (rivière).png |
| map_size | 280px |
| source1_location | Cévennes |
| mouth | Rhône |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| progression | |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | France |
| length | 133 km |
| discharge1_avg | 32 m3/s |
| basin_size | 2200 km2 |
| tributaries_left | Gardon d'Alès |
| :: |
| name = Gardon | image = Pont Du Gard2.jpg | image_caption = The Gardon near the Pont du Gard | map = Gardon (rivière).png | map_size = 280px | source1_location = Cévennes | mouth = Rhône | mouth_coordinates = | progression = | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = France | length = 133 km | source1_elevation = | discharge1_avg = 32 m3/s | basin_size = 2200 km2 | tributaries_left = Gardon d'Alès ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Pont_du_Gard_3.jpg" caption="[[Pont du Gard"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/FR-30-Anduze3.JPG" caption="The Gardon in [[Anduze"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/En_premier_plan_le_Gardon_et_en_arrière_plan_le_Rhône_près_de_Comps.JPG" caption="Comps"] ::
The Gardon or Gard (Occitan and French: Gardon, Gard, , ) is a river in southern France. It is the namesake of the department of Gard. Several of its tributaries are also called Gardon. It is 127.6 km long, and takes its source in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Lansuscle, in the Cévennes mountain range. In its upper course it is also referred to as Gardon de Saint-Martin. From its furthest source, that of its tributary "Gardon de Saint-Jean", it is 133 km long. It flows into the Rhône (right-side tributary) at Comps, north of Beaucaire, across from Vallabrègues.
Features
The Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard and the 16th-century Pont Saint-Nicolas are two historic bridges that cross the Gardon. The Gorges du Gardon, which ends at Pont Saint-Nicolas, is a popular recreation area for kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, and hiking.
The village of Collias, approximately 12 km downriver from the Pont Saint-Nicolas, has several kayak and canoe rental agencies which will bus customers upriver to the Pont Saint-Nicolas (until the river level drops low in late June). Departing from Collias by kayak or canoe will bring you to the Pont du Gard in about an hour and one-half. It is possible to kayak or canoe under the Pont du Gard, although at times the river is not high enough to allow for passage.
Floods
In September 2002 and again in December 2003, the Gardon had record level floods that damaged many of its bridges including the Pont Saint-Nicolas, which has since been fully restored. The river today shows few signs of the floods.
Places along the river
La Grand-Combe and Alès are situated on the Gardon d'Alès, the major left tributary.
References
References
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::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::