William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge

“ After passing through some narrow gorges near Sisteron the bed of the river becomes wide, and spreads desolation around, the frequent overflows being kept within bounds by numerous dykes and embankments. ”

“ These features are especially marked when the river, after leaving the Basses-Alpes, soon bends N.W. and, always serving as the boundary between the departments of Vaucluse (N.) and of the Bouches-du-Rhône (S.) , passes Cavaillon before it effects its junction with the Rhône. The drainage area of the Durance is about 5166 sq. m., while the height it descends is 6550 ft., if reckoned from the lakes on the Mont Genèvre, or 7850 ft. if we take those at the head of the Névache valley as the true source of the river. ”