ALPES-DE-HAUTE-PROVENCE INFORMATION
ALPES-DE-HAUTE-PROVENCE Geography
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a mountainous region with peaks over 8,000 feet in Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur. The climate is very dry and arid but irrigation allows for a prosperous fruit-growing industry.
It is surrounded by the French departments of Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Vaucluse, and Drôme, as well as Italy.
Rivers include: Durance, Verdon, Bléone, Ubaye, Var, Buëch, Jabron, Largue.
Alpes de Haute Provence is also surrounded by the department of Drôme in the region of Rhône-Alpes.
ALPES-DE-HAUTE-PROVENCE History
Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was renamed Haute-Provence and Basses-Alpes.
On December 8, 1793, the department of Vaucluse was created from parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes.
On April 13, 1970, the department of Basses-Alpes was renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE Demographics
Inhabitants of this department are called Bas-Alpins.
The population was once distributed fairly evenly across the department, both in the mountainous regions and the agricultural ones. However, near the end of the 19th century it markedly decreased due to rural exodus to the cities. It fell from about 150,000 to below 100,000 after World War I. It was not until 1960, that the population began to grow again, from 84,335 in 1968 to 139,561 in 1999. However, although the population figures are about what they were before, the distribution is very different. The population is now centered around the larger towns, Manosque and Digne-les-Bains, and the mountainous regions are very sparsely populated.
The arrondissements of Barcelonette and Castellane are the two least heavily populated of France, the only ones with under 10,000 inhabitants. The town of Castellane is the smallest subprefecture of France.
ALPES DE HAUTE PROVENCE Tourism
The Verdon Gorge (in French: Gorges du Verdon or Grand canyon du Verdon), in south-eastern France (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), is a river canyon that is considered by many to be Europe's most beautiful. It is about 25 kilometers long and up to 700 meters deep. It was formed by the Verdon River, which is named after its startling turquoise-green colour, one of the canyon's most distinguishing characteristics. The most impressive part lies between the towns of Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, where the river has cut a ravine up to 700 metres down through the limestone mass. At the end of the canyon, the Verdon river flows into the artificial lake of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon (in French: Lac de Sainte-Croix).
Because of its proximity to the French Riviera, the canyon is very popular with tourists, who can drive around its rim, rent kayaks or hike. The limestone walls, which are several hundreds of meters high, attract many rock climbers. It is considered an outstanding destination for multi-pitch climbing. There are routes encompassing cracks, pillars and seemingly endless walls. The climbing is generally of a technical nature, and there are over 1,500 routes, ranging from 20m to over 400m.
ALPES-DE-HAUTE-PROVENCE Administration
Department number : 04
Region : Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefecture : Digne-les-Bains
Subprefectures : Barcelonnette, Castellane, Forcalquier
Arrondissements : 4
Cantons : 30
Communes : 200
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