[2] Its source is in the southwestern part of the Alps, in the Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon; it flows southwest through the following departments and cities: The Durance's largest tributary is the Verdon.

[3] The name Dru-ent-ia probably means 'the flowing one', stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root *dreu- ('to run, walk fast').

[5][6] The Durance is 305 kilometres (190 mi) long from its source at the foot of Sommet des Anges, at 2,390 metres (7,840 ft) high,[7] above Montgenèvre, to its confluence with the Rhône.

The source of La Durance is on the northern slope of the Sommet des Anges [fr], where the first small streams combine into a river.

In its middle and lower reaches the Durance is affected by the Mediterranean climate: flooding after autumnal rains, with low water levels in summer.

The valley narrows for a few kilometres until the water gap at Mirabeau, at a depth of 200 metres (660 ft),[11] then widens again into an even broader plain until the confluence with the Rhône south of Avignon.

Its direction changes from southerly to westerly then northwesterly, aligning with the small Provençal mountain ranges between which it flows (Alpilles and Luberon).

The Durance receives only one significant tributary on this last part of its course: the Calavon, which flows around the Lubéron range to the north.

The river is considered "capricious", alternating between the feared flash floods (called the third plague of Provence) and low water levels.

The sources of the water are a combination of melting snow and the drainage of rain from the surrounding hills and plateaux which have a Mediterranean climate.

[12] At the confluence with the Rhône, the average natural flow of the Durance is approximately 190 cubic metres per second (6,700 cu ft/s), with a high annual variability.

The lowest water levels occur in winter in the upper valley, and in summer in the middle and lower part of the river.

[22] Three types of islands are formed in the bed of the Durance: Hautes-Alpes : Alpes-de-Haute-Provence : Between the Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône : Dams have been built since the Middle Ages to prevent flooding.

[26] From 1839 to 1854, the engineer Franz Mayor de Montricher built a canal to supply the city of Marseille with drinking water.

In 1955, the law defined the EDF Durance-Verdon project had three objectives: Over 40 years, this project required the construction of 23 dams and water extraction points starting upstream of Claux sur Argentiere down to Mallemort and the supply of 33 hydroelectric power stations and several control stations.

The Durance used to have an average natural flow of 188 cubic metres per second (6,600 cu ft/s) and behaved like a Mediterranean river, but dams and canals have changed it considerably.

The river with its valley is an important biological corridor, within the national green infrastructure and the Pan-European ecological network.

Water quality is considered good in the higher valley, in spite of the number of dams, which deprive the Durance of the power needed to carry sediment away.

This quality was obtained thanks to actions of clean-up projects on the river itself and on the tributaries of the Luye and Calavon (also called le Coulon)).

The dams in the valley have reduced the incidence of floods and so have allowed the colonisation of alluvial space by alder and poplar in riparian forests.

Ludwigia, the primrose willow, is an invasive plant having gradually spread since 1986 in the stagnant water in dead gravel pits and ponds.

[36] The Durance played a very important part in the history of Provence, and largely contributed to the economic growth and population of the Marseilles area, after having been an obstacle for centuries.

The bas-reliefs at Cabrières-d'Aigues depict the river being used for the transport of various liquid food products such as wine and olive oil.

[45] Other ferries were established to supply the windmills built at the end of the 18th century in Poët [fr], Upaix and Claret.

[45] Hydroelectric installations and chains of locks on the Durance, and its tributaries the Verdon, Buëch and Bléone had the most significant economic impacts and are the most visible change in the landscape.

Thanks to the reservoirs at Serre-Ponçon and Sainte-Croix, which together can hold more than 2 billion tonnes of water, irrigation remains possible in summer even during the driest years.

4/67 Durance Helicopter Squadron created in 1976, is charged with protecting the air force base at Apt-Saint-Christol and the nuclear missile site at Plateau d'Albion.

The Romanian surrealist painter, Victor Brauner, took refuge in 1942 in Remollon and made several paintings on materials that he found.

In French cinema is the setting of the film L'Eau vive by François Villiers is during the construction of the dam at Serre-Ponçon.

The Durance-class tanker is a series of multi-product replenishment oilers, originally designed and built for service in the French Navy.