Po (river)

Po
Po
	The Po in Turin, Piedmont
	Map of the Po watershed
Location
Country	Italy, France and Switzerland
Po Basin	Italy, Switzerland, France
Cities	Turin, Cremona, Piacenza, Ferrara
Physical characteristics
Source	Monte Viso
• location	Near Crissolo, Piedmont, Italy
• coordinates	44°42′5″N 7°5′35″E / 44.70139°N 7.09306°E
• elevation	3,700 m (12,100 ft)
Mouth	Adriatic Sea
• location	Near Adria, Veneto, Italy
• coordinates	44°57′9″N 12°25′55″E / 44.95250°N 12.43194°E
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	652 km (405 mi)
Basin size	74,000 km2 (29,000 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	1,540 m3/s (54,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	3,100 m3/s (110,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Dora Baltea, Ticino, Adda, Oglio, Mincio
• right	Tanaro

The Po (/poʊ/ POH, Italian: [ˈpɔ])^[3] is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso. The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice.

It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to the Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile, one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge.^[4] As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length is controlled with embankments.^[1]

The river flows through many important Italian cities, including Turin, Piacenza, Cremona and Ferrara. It is connected to Milan through a net of channels called navigli, which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called Po di Maestra, Po della Pila, Po delle Tolle, Po di Gnocca and Po di Goro) at the southern part of which is Comacchio, an area famous for eels. The Po Valley was the territory of Roman Cisalpine Gaul, divided into Cispadane Gaul (south of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (north of the Po).

^ ^a ^b Zwingle, Erla (May 2002). "Italy's Po River Punished for centuries by destructive floods, northern Italians stubbornly embrace their nation's longest river, which nurtures rice fields, vineyards, fisheries—and legends". National Geographic. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
^ Cite error: The named reference AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Latin: Padus or Ēridanus; Ancient Ligurian: Bodincus or Bodencus
^ Margat, Jean F. (2004). Mediterranean Basin Water Atlas. UNESCO. p. 4. ISBN 9782951718159. There are few rivers with an abundant flow. Only three rivers have a mean discharge of more than 1000 m³/s: the Nile (at Aswan), the Rhône and the Po.

[NG2002-1] Zwingle, Erla (May 2002). "Italy's Po River Punished for centuries by destructive floods, northern Italians stubbornly embrace their nation's longest river, which nurtures rice fields, vineyards, fisheries—and legends". National Geographic. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2009.

[AM-2] Cite error: The named reference AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] Latin: Padus or Ēridanus; Ancient Ligurian: Bodincus or Bodencus

[Margat-4] Margat, Jean F. (2004). Mediterranean Basin Water Atlas. UNESCO. p. 4. ISBN 9782951718159. There are few rivers with an abundant flow. Only three rivers have a mean discharge of more than 1000 m³/s: the Nile (at Aswan), the Rhône and the Po.

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