The Arve (French pronunciation:) is a river in France (département of Haute-Savoie), and Switzerland (canton of Geneva). A left tributary of the Rhône, it is 108 km (67 mi) long, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is 1,976 km2 (763 sq mi), of which 80 km2 in Switzerland. Its average discharge in Geneva is 79 m3/s (2,800 cu ft/s).
Rising in the northern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps, close to the Swiss border, it receives water from the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley (mainly the Mer de Glace) before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of Geneva, where its much higher level of silt brings forth a striking contrast between the two rivers.
The Arve flows through Chamonix, Sallanches, Oëx, Cluses, Bonneville, Annemasse and Geneva. Tributaries include, from source to mouth: Arveyron, Diosaz, Bon-Nant, Sallanche, Giffre, Borne, Menoge, Foron, Seymaz and Aire.
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