Angoulême is a centre of the paper-making
and printing industry, with which the town has been connected since the 14th
century. Papermaking is favoured because of the uniform temperature and volume
of the water year-round, partly due to the Touvre River, which joins the
Charente at Angoulême. The Touvre is the second largest river with an
underground source in France after the River Sorgue (Fontaine-de-Vaucluse).
The Touvre emerges as a full-blown river
from the head of the valley at Ruelle. A trout fishery is located at the source
and a pumping
