Golo

The Golo (in Corsican Golu ) is largest Fleuve of the Corsica island of .

Geography

This coastal river occurs with the foot of the Paglia Orba with 2 000 meters of Altitude. It adopts a south-western/north-eastern direction overall. He traverses 89,6 km to finish his race in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the south of the pond of Biguglia in plain of Lucciana skirting the site of Mariana.

Affluents

the Asco
the Casaluna

Hydrology

Golo is a small abundant river, like the majority of the rivers of Corsica, Mediterranean island sprinkled well. Its flow was observed over one 47 years period (1961-2007), with Volpajola, locality of the department of Haute-Corse located at about fifteen kilometers upstream of its outlet in the Tyrrhenian Sea (ref.: ). The catchment area of the river is there of 926 km ².

The interannual medium flow or module of the river with Volpajola is of 14,1 m ³ a second.

Golo presents seasonal fluctuations of flow very marked, like very often in Mediterranean midday. The high waters are held in winter and in spring and carry the average monthly flow on a level located between 19,5 and 25,2 m ³ a second, from December to May included (with a maximum enough Net in April). With June flow breaks down, which leads quickly to the low waters of summer which take place from July to September included, with a fall of the monthly medium flow going up to 2,42 m ³ in August. October and November constitute one transitional period towards high waters. But the fluctuations are much more marked over short periods and vary according to the years.

With the low water level, the VCN3 can fall until 0,50 m ³, in the event of period quinquennial dry, which is rather low, but perfectly normal in the Mediterranean context (see note).

The risings as for them, can be very important. The QIX 2 and QIX 5 or calculated flows of biennial and quinquennial rising are worth respectively 210 and 320 m ³. The QIX 10 or calculated flow of decennial rising is of 380 m ³ a second, the QIX 20 of 450 m ³ and the QIX 50 of 530 m ³ (see note).

The maximum instantaneous flow recorded at the station was of 734 m ³ a second on November 5th, 1994, while the value maximum day laborer was of 322 m ³ a second on October 26th, 1976. By comparing the first of these values on a QIX scale of the river, it arises that this rising of November 1994 was much more than cinquantennale, perhaps centennial or more, but in all the cases exceptional.

To have an idea of the importance of these flows, one can compare them with one affluents of the Seine upstream of Paris, the Marne, one of the most important rivers of the basin of the Seine. The QIX 10 of the Marne at the end of the course is worth 510 m ³ (against 380 for Golo) and its QIX 50 is assembled to 650 m ³ (against 530 for Golo). Thus in spite of a basin nearly fourteen times less extended and a medium flow of about the eighth, the volume of believed of Golo approaches the volume of those of the Marne.

Golo is a small abundant river, well supplied with so abundant precipitations they, in the high central areas of the island in particular. The Lame of water past in its catchment area is of 482 millimetres annually, which is rather high, largely higher than the overall average of France, all confused basins, and hardly lower than the average of the basin of the the Rhone (557 millimetres with Beaucaire at the end of the course) which however profits from often superabundant precipitations of the Jura, the Alps and the Cevennes. The specific Flow of Golo (or Qsp) consequently reached the figure of 15,2 liters a second and per square kilometer of basin.

The department of Golo

The Fleuve also gave its name to the department of the Golo , old French Département, whose Chef-lieu was Bastia. Created in 1793 at the time of the first partition of the Corsica , it was removed in 1811 when the department of Corsica was restored.

In 1976, the department of Haute-Corse was created with limits equivalent to Golo.

For the administrative units of the department of Golo, to see the article on the department of the Corsica .

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