What does this number measure?
The Rhône rises in the Swiss Alps, passes through Lake Geneva and then continues through France. Its delta opens out in the Camargue region. The comparison uses a conventional river-course length; it does not measure a direct distance from the source to the sea.
This length follows the course adopted by the catalogue. Maps show simplified, sometimes partial courses; an independent bar represents the documented length, distinct from straight-line distance.
Compare the stated dimensions
The comparison uses the number in each fact sheet: altitude, height, diameter, length or distance, depending on the reference. Two values in metres do not necessarily describe the same property.
Source and limitations
Rounded value: some references give approximately 813 km, depending on their route and conventions.
Top view of a simplified geographic outline of the Rhône, based on the available mapped segments. The locator drawing may be partial, and river systems may combine several branches. The channel width and the textures of the water and banks are interpreted; this is not a satellite photograph. Only the lower bar represents the reference length documented by the source; the width of the map above does not measure that length. Outline: Natural Earth, public domain. Licence: Public domain.