Tiber River

Tiber Tevere  (Italian)
The Tiber in Rome
Location
Country	Italy
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Mount Fumaiolo
- elevation	1,268 m (4,160 ft)
Mouth
- location	Tyrrhenian Sea
Length	406 km (252 mi)
Basin size	17,375 km2 (6,709 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	239 m3/s (8,400 cu ft/s) (in Rome)

The Tiber (Latin: Tiberis, Italian: Tevere) is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing mainly through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea, between Ostia and Fiumicino.

The river is well-known because the city of Rome was founded on its eastern banks.

Geography

The Tiber river has a length of 405 km (252 mi), and a drainage basin with an area of approximately 17,375 km² (6,709 sq mi), almost 5% of the territory of the country.

It is the third longest river of Italy, after the Po and the Adige rivers, and the second by drainage basin after the Po.

River	Length (km)	Watershed (km²)
Po	652	74,970
Adige	410	12,200
Tiber	405	17,375

Course

The Tiber starts near the town of Balze, Verghereto comune in the southwestern end of the Forlì-Cesena province, in the southern side of Monte Fumaiolo. The source of the river is formed by two springs that are 10 m (33 ft) from each other in a forest on the mountain at an elevation of 1,268 m (4,160 ft) above sea level.

The Tiber flows through Emilia-Romagna about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) and then it gets into Tuscany where flows through Pieve Santo Stefano and Sansepolcro. Between these two localities there is a dam with a large reservoir that is named as Montedoglio Lake (Italian: Lago di Montedoglio). From here, the river flows through a wide plain (Val Tiberina) and gets in the Perugia province (Umbria) and flows through the towns of Città di Castello and Umbertide.

To the south of Torgiano, it is joined by its left side by the Chiascio river and then, in the Marsciano dam, by the Nestore river by its right side. Soon another right tributary, the Paglia, joins the Tiber.

The river forms the border between the Umbria (province of Terni) and Lazio (province of Viterbo) regions. Near the city of Orte, it is joined by the left side by its main tributary, the Nera river.

It flows through the Lazio region (Viterbo, Rieti and Rome provinces) and is joined by the Aniene river, flows through the city of Rome and, finally, into the Tyrrhenian Sea between Ostia and Fiumicino.

Main tributaries

The main tributaries are:

Tributary	Length	Discharge
Left tributaries
Chiascio	82 km	19 m³/s
Nera	116 km	168 m³/s
Aniene	99 km	35 m³/s
Right tributaries
Nestore	64 km	11 m³/s
Paglia	86 km	11 m³/s

Discharge

The average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) of the Tiber is 240 m³/s (8,500 cu ft/s) at its mouth.

The mean monthly discharges (in m³) for 2011 in Rome were:

644	548	491	316	205	175	97	84	91	324	897	840
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dic

Gallery

Comune di Fiumicino and the mouth of the Tiber, May 2013

• 
  Spring of river Tiber on Monte Fumaiolo.
• 
  The river Tiber in Rome.
• 
  View of the Tiber looking towards the Vatican City.

Related pages

• List of rivers of Italy

Other websites

• Fiume Tevere - Fiumi Italiani (in Italian)