The Orne (L') is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre.
Geography The Orne flows through the following departments and towns:
Orne (named after the river): Sées, Argentan Calvados: Thury-Harcourt, Saint-André-sur-Orne, Caen, Ouistreham
It also flows through the areas known as Suisse Normande and the Plaine d'Argentan.
Its longest tributaries are, from source to mouth: Don Ure Cance Udon Baize Rouvre Noireau Laize Odon
Lac de Rabodanges
In 1960 a dam at Rabodanges in Putanges-le-Lac was built by along the course of the Orne. The dam created a 6 km artificial lake covering almost 240 acres, making it the largest lake in Lower Normandy. The lake is now a popular tourist destination and had a designated swimming area opened in August 2022.
Name The name of the Orne in Normandy, which is referred to as the Olinas by Ptolemy, is a homonym of Fluvius Olne, the Orne saosnoise in Sarthe, which Xavier Delamarre traces back to the Celtic olīnā (elbow).
Hydrology and water quality The waters of the Orne are typically moderately turbid and brown in colour. Its pH level has been measured at 8.5Hogan, C Michael, Water quality of freshwater bodies in France, Lumina Press, Aberdeen 2006. at the town of St. Andre sur Orne where summer water temperatures approximate . Electrical conductivity of the water has been measured at 30 microsiemens per centimeter.
See also Canal de Caen à la Mer Operation Tonga
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