Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Tech (river)

The Tech is a river in southern France, very close to the French-Spanish border. It runs through a valley in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the former Roussillon, and is 84.5 kilometres (52.5 mi) long. Its source is the Parcigoule Valley, elevation 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), and it feeds the Mediterranean Sea. At Céret, the medieval Devil's bridge, once the largest bridge arch in the world, spans the river in an arc of 45 metres (148 ft) in length.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
288 w
Citations
3
Source
Tech
Pont du Diable, spanning the Tech, in Céret
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Location
CountryFrance
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationPyrenees
 • elevation±2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Mediterranean Sea
 • coordinates
42°35′24″N 3°2′43″E / 42.59000°N 3.04528°E / 42.59000; 3.04528
Length84.5 km (52.5 mi)
Basin size
750 km2 (290 mi2)
Discharge 
 • average9.6 m3/s (340 cu ft/s)

The Tech (French: [tɛk] ; Catalan: Tec [ˈtɛk]) is a river in southern France, very close to the French-Spanish border. It runs through a valley in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the former Roussillon, and is 84.5 kilometres (52.5 mi) long.1 Its source is the Parcigoule Valley, elevation 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), and it feeds the Mediterranean Sea. At Céret, the medieval Devil's bridge, once the largest bridge arch in the world, spans the river in an arc of 45 metres (148 ft) in length.

Geography

The Tech flows through 25 different towns, from its source to the sea: Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste, Serralongue, Le Tech, Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, Montferrer, Corsavy, Arles-sur-Tech, Montbolo, Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Reynès, Céret, Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, Maureillas-las-Illas, Le Boulou, Tresserre, Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines, Montesquieu-des-Albères, Banyuls-dels-Aspres, Villelongue-dels-Monts, Brouilla, Ortaffa, Palau-del-Vidre, Elne and Argelès-sur-Mer. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea between Saint-Cyprien and Argelès-sur-Mer, southeast of Perpignan.1

In culture

Poetry
  • (in French) Ode au Tech [Ode to the Tech] (1912), a poem by the writer Marc Anfossi.2
References

References

External links