Geography: Rivers and Lakes in the Languedoc: The River Hérault

The Hérault rises on the side of Mount Aigoual the Cévennes National Park. Its source is not far from that of the River Gard.

It flows past the Grotte des Damoiselles (a cave system carved out of the limestone of the Causes). It (virtually) defines the southern border of the Cause du Larzac before reaching the famous tourist village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.

The river gives its name to the Hérault département.

From the village of St-Guilhem-le-Desert it flows south across the fertile plain of to the west of Montpellier before reacing the Mediterranean Sea near Agde. The Hérault River Basin is a Mediterranean watershed of 2500 km² located in the Languedoc, 150 km north-east of the Spanish border.

Its length is 160 km.

Towns along the river
The Hérault flows through the following départements and towns:
Gard: Valleraugue.
Hérault: Ganges, St-Guilhem-le-Desert, Aniane, Pézenas, Agde, Cap d'Agde (where there is a marina and a naturist resort.)