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Origin of the Name of the Seine

The Seine is a large river in northern France, with a total length of 776.6 kilometers and a total basin area of ​​78,700 square kilometers, including its tributaries; it is one of the largest historical rivers in Europe, and its drainage network accounts for more than half of the French inland shipping volume. most. Since the early Middle Ages, Paris has been built on some of the main crossings of the river, and the interdependence between the river and the city is close and inseparable.

Name origin

Argument one

The source of the Seine River, 275 kilometers southeast of Paris. In a limestone hilly area more than 470 meters above sea level, there is a small stream in a narrow valley, and there is a cave along the stream. The entrance of the cave is not high, it is an artificial building, and there is no fence in front of the door. There is a statue of a goddess in the cave. She is dressed in white, half lying and half lying, holding a water bottle in her hand and a smile on the corner of her mouth.

The stream quietly flowed out from behind the goddess. Obviously, the Seine is derived from spring water. According to the local Gaul legend, the goddess was named Seine, a goddess of precipitation, and the Seine was named after her.

Argument two

Another way of saying it is that there is a village not far from the source of the river, and there is a small church in the town. It is recorded on the inner wall that there was once a priest here who asked God for rain during a severe drought. God was moved by the piety of the priest, and finally rained the earth and created a river to ensure that there would never be a drought. This priest is a Burgoyne, whose name is “Seine” in Bourgogne, which translates to “Seine” in French. So the name of the village and church is “Saint Seine”, so some people think that the name of the Seine comes from this priest.

Hydrological characteristics

The Seine Basin is mostly made of permeable rock, which has the ability to absorb water and mitigate the risk of flooding.

The Seine has a mild maritime climate, with no extreme heat in summer and no severe cold in winter. The average temperature in January is 3°C, the average temperature in July is 18°C, and the annual average temperature is 10°C. The precipitation in the entire basin is moderate, the average annual rainfall is generally 650-750 mm, and the rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, with only occasional snowfall in the higher southern and eastern margins. The water level is low in summer and high in winter, contrary to the situation in China.

The Seine is the most regular and navigable river in France. In order to improve its seaworthiness, construction has been carried out to promote the regularization of river water, and the phenomenon of dry water has also disappeared. Winter floods are rarely dangerous. In Paris, the average flow of rivers is about 280 cubic meters per second.

Geographical location and flow

The Seine River originates from the Langres plateau in the Côte d’Or, Burgundy, at an altitude of 471 meters and a total length of 776 kilometers; when it flows through the porous limestone village of Châtillon, it is still a small stream. .

It flows from Burgundy to the northwest, into Champagne above Troyes; it is a sturdy gorge on both sides of the dry chalk plateau of Champagne. It joins the Aube near Romière, and the valley widens as it flows westward toward Montero, where it receives the Yona from its left bank. It turns to the northwest again, when it crosses the Ile-de-France and runs towards Paris in its gorge-like valley, passing through Melun and Corbet. When it enters Paris, it joins with its large tributary, the Marne, on the right bank; after meandering through the metropolis, it receives the Oise on the right bank.

When passing through Paris, the Seine has been trimmed and the channel between the piers on both sides has been narrowed. It flows along a large winding channel, under Mantra Jolly, through Normandy and towards the estuary in the English Channel. Its wide estuary opens rapidly, passing Doncaville, extending 26 kilometers, to Le Havre. It often has a tidal appearance.

From its source to Paris, the Seine flows through a series of concentric zones of young sedimentary rock, filling structural basins, the center of which is the limestone mesa that closely surrounds Paris.

The rocks in this basin are all slightly sloping around Paris and feature a series of limestone (including chalk) horsehead mounds whose surfaces are outwardly spaced by narrow clay valleys. These horsehead mounds have been breached by the Seine and its tributaries and have created some notable gaps.

Below Paris, the channel of the lower Seine, following the course of the line of structural weakness affecting the northern part of the basin, empties into the sea roughly northwest. The English Channel is on the north side of the basin, breaking its symmetry and breaking the integrity of the concentric zone. The Seine still flows into the sea in the chalk belt.

The topography of the Seine Basin is not astonishingly uneven, 48 kilometers from its source and has dropped 244 meters, while Paris is 365 kilometers from the estuary, but only 24 meters above sea level. Therefore, the Seine is gentle and obviously navigable, and even more navigable because of its general regularity.

The Paris Basin, which flows through it, is the richest agricultural region in France. The Seine flows from the southeast to the northwest of the basin, to the flat area in the middle of the basin, the flow rate slows down, forming a meandering river, passing through the center of Paris.

Paris is gradually developed on the island of the Seine and its banks. More than ten kilometers along the Seine River in Paris are stone-built piers and wide embankments. There are more than 30 exquisite bridges across the river. High-rise buildings are arranged on both sides of the river, reflecting into the water. The scenery is very beautiful and spectacular.