The Cèze is a river in France, a tributary of the Rhône on the right bank, which flows mainly in the departments of Lozère and Gard, in the Occitania region. It also runs for about a kilometer along the Ardèche department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Its source is in the Cévennes (Massif Central), near Saint-André-Capcèze.
The length of its watercourse is 128.3 km. Its basin area is 1,360 km².
The Cèze has its source at an altitude of 798 meters, on the west slope of the neighboring summit called “Truc du Samblonnet” at 973 m. It then flows into the department of Gard, except for a portion of approximately 1500 meters of its left bank located in the commune of Malbosc, in the department of Ardèche. The river flows into the Rhône between Codolet and Laudun-l’Ardoise in the Gard department at an altitude of 27 meters.
Downstream from Barjac, it forms the lower Cèze Valley or Val de Cèze. From Rochegude to the gates of Bagnols-sur-Cèze, the river has dug gorges which form a group certainly less spectacular than those of Ardèche located around ten kilometers to the north, but worthy of interest and easier to get to. There are the Sautadet waterfalls, with its impressive formations carved into the rock. The villages of Montclus and La Roque-sur-Cèze, among the most beautiful villages in France, are located on the gorges.
In three departments, the Cèze crosses 41 communes. The most important are:
- Bessèges
- Molières-sur-Cèze
- Saint-Ambroix
- Saint-Jean-de-Maruéjols-et-Avéjan
- Goudargues
- Bagnols-sur-Cèze
- Laudun-l’Ardoise
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