Vilaine

Vilaine
Vilaine
	The Vilaine in Rennes.
Native name	La Vilaine (French)
Location
Country	France
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Juvigné, Mayenne
• coordinates	48°13′46″N 01°03′11″W / 48.22944°N 1.05306°W
• elevation	175 m (574 ft)
Mouth
• location	Atlantic Ocean
• coordinates	47°30′20″N 2°29′57″W / 47.50556°N 2.49917°W
Length	218.1 km (135.5 mi)
Basin size	10,882 km2 (4,202 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	80 m3/s (2,800 cu ft/s)

The Vilaine (French pronunciation: [vilɛn] ^ⓘ; Breton: Gwilen) is a river in Brittany, in the west of France. The river's source is in the Mayenne département (53), and it flows out into the Atlantic Ocean at Pénestin in the Morbihan département (56). It is 218 km long.^[1]

Course of the river

The river arises near the towns of Juvigné and La Croixille. It passes through 4 départements (Mayenne, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique and Morbihan) and 4 main towns (Rennes, Vitré, Redon, and La Roche-Bernard), then flows into the Bay of Biscay by Pénestin.

Three barrages were built around Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine to alleviate flooding, while securing potable water supplies:^{[citation needed]}

1978 Valière barrage
1982 Haute-Vilaine barrage
1995 Villaumur barrage

They are also amenities for recreational activities.

Hydrology

The river has a flow ranging between 2 and 1500 m³/s^{[citation needed]}

The Vilaine is part of Brittany's canal system, built mainly in the 19th century for relatively small barges (130 tonnes). The entire system was transferred to the Brittany Region in 2011. In Rennes the river connects to the Canal d'Ille et Rance hence the Rance estuary, which enters the English Channel at Saint-Malo. In Redon it crosses the Canal de Nantes à Brest, giving access to Pontivy and the Blavet (west) and Nantes (east).