Isère | |
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The Isère in the center of Grenoble.
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Drainage basin of the Rhône (the Isère flows through Grenoble in the center of the map).
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Country | France |
Region | Departments of Drôme, Isère, and Savoie in the Rhône-Alpes region |
Basin features | |
Main source | Sources de l'Isère Glacier, Grande Aiguille Rousse, Graian Alps ±2,900 m (9,500 ft) 45°26′45″N 7°5′47″E / 45.44583°N 7.09639°E |
River mouth |
Rhône ±110 m (360 ft) 44°58′56″N 4°51′8″E / 44.98222°N 4.85222°ECoordinates: 44°58′56″N 4°51′8″E / 44.98222°N 4.85222°E |
Progression | Rhône→ Mediterranean Sea |
Basin size | 11,890 km2 (4,590 sq mi) |
Tributaries | |
Physical characteristics | |
Length | 286 km (178 mi) |
Discharge |
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Sources | Sandre, Géoportail, Banque Hydro , Symbhi |
The Isère (pronounced: [i.zɛʁ]) is a river in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. Its source, a glacier known as the Sources de l'Isère, lies in the Vanoise National Park in the Graian Alps of Savoie, near the ski resort Val d'Isère on the border with Italy. An important left-bank tributary of the Rhône, the Isère merges with it a few kilometers north of Valence.
Many riverside communes have incorporated the Isère's name into their own, for example, Sainte-Hélène-sur-Isère and Romans-sur-Isère. The department of Isère is likewise named after the river.
The name Isère was first recorded under the form Isara, which means "the impetuous one, the swift one." Not originally a Celtic word, it was very likely assimilated by the Celts in ancient times. This word is related to the Indo-European *isərós, meaning "impetuous, quick, vigorous," which is similar to the Sanskrit isiráh with the same definition. It was probably based on the reconstructed Indo-European root *eis(ə) (and not *is), which incidentally has not been found in the Celtic languages of the British Isles.