Alps rivers such as the Danube have major tributaries flowing into them that originate in the Alps. The Rhône is second to the Nile as a freshwater source to the Mediterranean Sea; the river begins as glacial meltwater, flows into Lake Geneva, and from there to France where one of its uses is to cool nuclear power plants. The Rhine originates in a 30 square kilometre area in Switzerland and represents almost 60 percent of water exported from the country. Tributary valleys, some of which are complicated, channel water to the main valleys which can experience flooding during the snow melt
Var (river) Var (river) The Var (, , ) is a river located in the southeast of France. The name "Var" originates from the Ligurian word for "waterway". The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes "département" for most of its length, with a short (~15 km or ~9 mi) stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the "département" named after it (see Var). The Var rises near the Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m/7,631 ft) in the Maritime Alps and flows generally southeast for into the Mediterranean between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var. Its