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]
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).
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.
The river name is attested in Latin as Vārus and in Ancient Greek as Ouãros (Οὐᾶρος). It stems from the Indo-European root *uōr- (earlier *uer-), meaning 'water, river' (cf. Sanskrit vār, Old Norse vari).[3]
The Var rises near the Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m/7,631 ft) in the Maritime Alps and flows generally southeast to its outflow into the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var. Its main tributaries are the Cians, the Tinée, the Vésubie, the Coulomp, the Estéron, the Tuébi, the Chalvagne, the Barlatte, the Bourdous and the Roudoule.[1]
The Var flows through the following départements and towns:
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