Bravone

The Bravone (or Bravona) is a small coastal river in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France.

Course


The Bravona is 37.19 km long. It crosses the communes of Alzi, Bustanico, Campi, Linguizzetta, Matra, Mazzola, Moïta, Pianello, Tallone, Tox and Zalana.

The Bravona rises to the northeast of the 1724 m Punta di Caldane. In its upper reaches it flows west, then south, then east, then turns to the southeast past the village of Pianello. From here it flows in a generally southeast direction before flowing east to its mouth on the sea just north of Marine de Bravone. Through most of its course there is no major road beside the river.

Valley
As of 2021 the Bravone valley did not attract many tourists, even in the high season. It is accessible via the D16 and D116 roads. The D16 leads through the villages of Tox, Campi, Moïta and Matra on the northeast side of the valley. About 1 km after Matra there is a lookout point from which a 20-minute hike along a trail leads down to the magnificent Genoese bridge of Aliso. About 4 km above the lookout point the road crosses to the west of the river. A five-minute walk upstream of the bridge along the river leads to the Bravone waterfall, set in an ancient forest, which falls into a large, deep basin. On the southwest side villages include Poggio, the charming hamlet of Pianelluccio and Ampriani, a hilltop village.

Water quality
In the 1980s there were plans to build a rockfill dam on the Bravone. It would have covered 68 ha and contained 1650000 m3 of water for use in irrigating 5000 ha of land in the eastern plain of Corsica. However, it was found that the river's waters were significantly contaminated by arsenic and antimony, so the project was abandoned. The contamination was due to intensive exploitation of an arsenic mine at the start of the 20th century on the banks of the Presa tributary near the village of Matra. Although levels of contamination drop further downstream, even at its mouth it is three times higher than is allowed by French and European regulations. The fish in the river are not safe to eat.

Hydrology
Measurements of the river flow were taken at the Tallone [Moulin de Granagiu] station from 1961 to 1999. The watershed above this station covers 66.5 km2. Annual precipitation was calculated as 389 mm. The average flow of water throughout the year was 0.816 m3/s.

Tributaries
The following streams (ruisseaux) are tributaries of the Bravone (ordered by length) and sub-tributaries:


 * Vadone 9 km
 * Zecche 5 km
 * Presa 5 km
 * Sonnente 5 km
 * Valle Sottana 4 km
 * la Fontaine 3 km
 * Vignole 3 km
 * Tofo 2 km
 * Siala 3 km
 * Pelaben 1 km
 * Sambuchetto 3 km
 * Péri 1 km
 * Prunellacce 3 km
 * Canale 3 km
 * Padulone 3 km
 * Meta 3 km
 * Sorbo 3 km
 * Acqua d'Orso 1 km
 * Dicceppo 1 km
 * Scandolajo 3 km
 * Nespoli 2 km
 * Marignani 2 km
 * Suaracce 3 km
 * Lupinaghio 2 km
 * Suario 2 km
 * Piedalitravi 2 km
 * Roticelle 2 km
 * Struscia 2 km
 * Sambuchello 1 km
 * Forciali 1 km
 * Pediventulella 1 km
 * Casaninchi 1 km
 * Costadi 1 km
 * Linareccia 1 km
 * Piedivolgare 1 km
 * Tavolajo 1 km
 * San Michèle 1 km
 * Audimerza 1 km
 * Filicaggio 1 km
 * Casette 1 km
 * Quencione 1 km
 * Mana 2 km