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| Scarpe | |
|---|---|
 The Scarpe at Douai | |
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| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Pas-de-Calais |
| • elevation | 101 m (331 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Scheldt |
• coordinates | 50°29′59″N3°26′49″E / 50.49972°N 3.44694°E /50.49972; 3.44694 |
| Length | 94 km (58 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,322 km2 (510 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Scheldt→North Sea |
| Official name | Vallées de la Scarpe et de l'Escaut |
| Designated | 2 February 2020 |
| Reference no. | 2405[1] |
TheScarpe (French pronunciation:[skaʁp]) is a river in theHauts-de-France region of France. It is a is 94 km (58 mi) long left-bank tributary of the river Escaut (Scheldt).[2][3] The source of the river is atBerles-Monchel nearAubigny-en-Artois. It flows through the towns ofArras,Douai andSaint-Amand-les-Eaux. The river ends atMortagne-du-Nord, where it flows into the Scheldt.Scarpe Mountain inAlberta,Canada, was named after the river. The navigable waterway and its coal barges also feature in the novels by the 19th-century authorÉmile Zola.
The river was made navigable by 15 weirs and locks over about two thirds of its length (67 km (42 mi)),[3] divided into the Upper Scarpe (Scarpe supérieure, 23 km, 9 locks) from Arras toCourchelettes,[4] the Middle Scarpe through Douai, and the Lower Scarpe (Scarpe inférieure, 36 km, 6 locks) from Douai to the Escaut.[5][6] The Middle Scarpe is no longer navigable, bypassed by the high-capacityCanal Dunkerque-Escaut.
This river was navigated from the Escaut up to Douai as early as 638, but improvements with flash locks were required to give access to the important town of Arras, reached in 1613. This remained a shallow navigation, with locks of varying width and length, until it was improved to theBecquey gauge in the 1840s. The enlargement toFreycinet gauge was completed by about 1890. Today the Lower Scarpe is closed from the Douai junction to Saint-Amand-les-Eaux pending dredging and identification of a new owner and operator.
The river and its valley wereimportant battlegrounds in theBattle of the Scarpe in theFirst World War. The valley of the Scarpe has been designated as a protectedRamsar site since 2020.[1]
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