The Tinée is a small and abundant river with a nival and pluvial hydrological regime that flows entirely in the Alpes-Maritimes department for 43 mi (70 km). The main tributary of the left bank of the Var river, the Tinée takes its source in the locality of Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage, in the Mercantour-Argentera massif, at an altitude of around 8,694 ft (2,650 m). It then turns east and south, crosses the Valabres gorges, and joins the Var in the municipality of Tournefort, at an altitude of 587 ft (179 m), level with the Mescla gorges.