The 'Somme' is a
river in
Picardy, northern
France. The name ''Somme'' comes from a
Celtic word meaning ''tranquility''.
The river is 245 km long, from its source in the high ground of the former Forest of Arrouaise at
Fonsommes near
Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the
English Channel. It lies in the
geological syncline which also forms The
Solent. This gives it a fairly constant and gentle gradient.
Historical events
★ The river is perhaps most famous as a result of the
World War I Battle of the Somme (
1916).
★ The Invasion Fleet of
William the Conqueror assembled in the Bay of the Somme at
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, in
1066.
★ The river featured in the
1346 withdrawal of
Edward III's army, which forded the river at the
battle of Blanchetaque during the campaign which culminated in the
Battle of Crécy.
★ Crossing the river also featured prominently in the campaign which led to the
Battle of Agincourt some 501 years before the
1916 battle.
★ The great battles which finally stopped the German advance in the
Spring Offensive of
1918 were fought around the valley of the Somme in places like
Villers Bretonneux, which marked the beginning of the end of the war.
Départements and towns along the river
★
Aisne:
Saint-Quentin
★
Somme :
Ham,
Péronne,
Corbie,
Amiens,
Abbeville,
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme,
Le Crotoy
The estuary, on the English Channel is now much smaller than it was but is still extensive.
Main tributaries
Hydrology
The river is characterized by a very gentle gradient and a steady flow. The valley is more or less steep-sided but its bottom is flat with
fens and pools. These characteristics of steady flow and flooded valley bottom arise from the river's being fed by the
ground water in the
chalk basin in which it lies. At earlier, colder times, from the
Günz to the
Würm (Beestonian or Nebraskan to Devensian or Wisconsinian) the river has cut down into the
Cretaceous geology to a level below the modern
water table. The valley bottom has now therefore, filled with water which, in turn, has filled with
fen.
This picture, of the source of the Somme in 1986, shows it when the water table had fallen below the surface of the chalk in which the
aquifer lies. Here, the flow of water had been sufficient to keep the fen from forming.
This satellite photograph shows the fenny valley crossing the chalk to the sea on the left. The sinuous length at the centre of the picture lies downstream from
Péronne.
One of the fens, the ''Marais de l'Île'' is a nature reserve in the town of St.Quentin. The traditional market gardens of
Amiens, the ''Hortillonages'' are on this sort of land but drained. Once exploited for peat cutting, the fen is now used for fishing and shooting.
The construction of the ''Canal de la Somme'' began in
1770 and reached completion in
1843. It is 156 km long, beginning at St.Simon and opening into the Bay of the Somme. From St.Simon to Froissy (near Bray sur Somme, south of Albert), the canal is alongside the river. Thence to the sea, the river is partly river and partly navigation. From
Abbeville, it is diverted through the
silted, former
estuary, to
Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, where the maritime canal, once called the canal du Duc d'Angoulême enters the English Channel.
An example of the lakes formed in the fen of the valley bottom. They attract wildfowlers and anglers.
The St.Quentin Canal, famous for the
1918 battle, links the Somme to northern France and
Belgium and southward to the
Oise. The Canal du Nord also links the Somme to the Oise, at Noyon, thence to Paris.
In 2001, the Somme valley was affected by particularly high floods, which were in large part due to a rise in the
water table of the surrounding land.
Flow-rate data (external links)
Monthly flow rates (mean over 43 years)
Catchment area 5560 km².
★
at Abbeville.
Daily flow rates compared with mean rates for the time of year at Hangest-sur-Somme (m³/s)
Catchment area 4835 km².
★ for the year -
1993.
1994.
1995.
1996.
1997.
1998.
1999.
2000.
2001.
2002.
2003.
2004.
2005.
Mean flow rates monthly and daily at Péronne (m³/s)
Catchment area 1294 km².
★ for the year -
1986.
1987.
1988.
1989.
1990.
1991.
1992.
1993.
1994.
1995.
1996.
1997.
1998.
1999.
2000.
2001.
2002.
2003.
2004.
2005.
The Marquenterre bird sanctuary at the mouth of the river.
Reference
★ Delattre, Ch., Mériaux, E. and Waterlot, M. ''Guides Géologiques Régionaux: Région du Nord, Flandre Artois Boulonnais Picardie'' (1973)
External links
★
Pictures from the Somme
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