Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (alp.də.ot.pʁɔ.vɑ̃s; Occitan:
Aups d'Auta Provença) is a French department in the south of France, it was formerly part of the
provinceThe Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...
of
ProvenceProvence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.
History
Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
on 4 March 1790. It was renamed Haute-Provence and Basses-Alpes.
On 12 August 1793, the department of
VaucluseThe Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
was created from parts of the departments of
Bouches-du-RhôneBouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes. Basses-Alpes lost the canton of
SaultThe canton of Sault is a French administrative division in the county of Vaucluse and region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.-Composition:The communes in the canton of Sault:*Aurel : 156 inhabitants*Monieux : 250 inhabitants*Saint-Christol : 555 inhabitants...
to Vaucluse at this point. Seventeen years later, in 1810, the canton of
Barcillonnette was transferred over to
Hautes-AlpesHautes-Alpes is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.- History :Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
.
On 13 April 1970, the department of Basses-Alpes was renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Geography
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a mountainous region with peaks over 10000 feet (3,048 m) close to the Italian border. 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-AlpesHautes-Alpes is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.- History :Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, Alpes-Maritimes,
VarThe Var is a French department in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in Provence, in southeast France. It takes its name from the river Var, which used to flow along its eastern boundary, but the boundary was moved in 1860...
, Vaucluse, and
DrômeDrôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, as well as
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Rivers include:
DuranceThe Durance is a major river in south-eastern France.Its source is in the south-western Alps, in Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon and it flows south-west through the following départements and cities:* Hautes-Alpes: Briançon, Embrun.* Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Sisteron, Manosque.* Vaucluse:...
,
VerdonThe Verdon is a 166 km long river in south-eastern France, left tributary of the Durance. Its source is at an altitude of 2819 m, in the south-western Alps , between the col d'Allos and the Trois Eveches mountain, south of Barcelonnette...
,
BléoneThe Bléone is a long river in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, southeastern France. Its source is several small streams converging near the refuge de l'Estrop, a mountain shelter in Prads-Haute-Bléone. It flows generally southwest...
,
UbayeThe Ubaye is a river of southeastern France. It is 83 km long and flows through the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department.Its rises at the Col de Longet, in the Cottian Alps on the border with Italy. It flows generally southwest, through Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, Jausiers and Barcelonnette...
,
VarThe 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 stretch in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département...
,
BuëchThe Buëch is a river in southeastern France, right tributary to the Durance. Its source is in the Dauphiné Alps, near the Grand Ferrand peak. It flows generally southward, for most of its course in the Hautes-Alpes département...
, Jabron,
LargueLargue is a village in the Bittou Department of Boulgou Province in south-eastern Burkina Faso. As of 2005, the village has a population of 621....
.
Arrondissements and cantons
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is subdivided into 4
arrondissementThe 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts.The capital of an arrondissement/district is called a subprefecture...
s, 30
cantonThe cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
s and 200
communesThe commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
.
| Arrondissement |
Canton |
# of communes |
| Barcelonnette |
Barcelonnette |
11 |
| Le Lauzet-Ubaye |
5 |
| Castellane |
Allos-Colmars |
6 |
| Annot |
7 |
| Castellane |
7 |
| Entrevaux |
6 |
| Saint-André-les-Alpes |
6 |
| Digne-les-Bains |
Barrême |
8 |
| Digne-les-Bains-Est |
4 |
| Digne-les-Bains-Ouest |
10 |
| La Javie |
6 |
| Les Mées |
6 |
| Mézel |
8 |
| Moustiers-Sainte-Marie |
3 |
| Riez |
9 |
| Seyne |
8 |
| Valensole |
4 |
| Forcalquier |
Banon |
9 |
| Forcalquier |
10 |
| Manosque-Nord |
3 |
| Manosque-Sud-Est |
3 |
| Manosque-Sud-Ouest |
3 |
| La Motte-du-Caire |
13 |
| Noyers-sur-Jabron |
7 |
| Peyruis |
4 |
| Reillanne |
8 |
| Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues |
8 |
| Sisteron |
5 |
| Turriers |
7 |
| Volonne |
9 |
See also: Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
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,
ManosqueManosque is the largest town and commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. However, it is not the préfecture of the département, which resides in the smaller town of Digne-les-Bains...
and
Digne-les-BainsDigne-les-Bains or simply and historically Digne is a commune of France, capital of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department.-History:...
, and the mountainous regions are very sparsely populated.
The
arrondissementsThe 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts.The capital of an arrondissement/district is called a subprefecture...
of Barcelonette and
CastellaneCastellane is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
are the two least heavily populated of France, the only ones with under 10,000 inhabitants. The town of
CastellaneCastellane is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
is the smallest subprefecture of France.
Politics
The President of the General Council is the
SocialistThe Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
Jean-Louis BiancoJean-Louis Bianco is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the first constituency of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, and is a member of the Socialist Party, which sits with the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche group in the Assembly.-External links:...
.
| Party |
seats |
| • |
Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
|
12 |
| • |
Miscellaneous Left |
6 |
|
Miscellaneous Right |
6 |
| • |
French Communist Party The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
|
3 |
| • |
Citizen and Republican Movement The Citizen and Republican Movement is a political party in France. The party replaced, in 2002, the Citizens' Movement founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who left the Socialist Party in 1993 due to his opposition to the Persian Gulf War and to the Maastricht Treaty...
|
1 |
|
Union for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
|
2 |
Tourism
The beautiful scenery provides the background to many activities and sights. Eleven villages have been classified as having special architectural character. In particular there are:
- The town of Sisteron
Sisteron is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Sisteron is situated on the banks of the River Durance just after the confluence of the rivers Buëch and Sasse...
with its ancient citadel and narrow streets
- The Gorge of Verdon
The Verdon Gorge , in south-eastern France , is a river canyon that is often considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful. It is about 25 kilometres long and up to 700 metres deep...
(Europe's Grand Canyon)
- Digne-les-Bains
Digne-les-Bains or simply and historically Digne is a commune of France, capital of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department.-History:...
Hot-spa town
- Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, or simply Moustiers, is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France, a part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region....
Pottery
- Forcalquier
Forcalquier is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.Forcalquier is located between the Lure and Luberon mountain ranges, about south of Sisteron and west of the Durance river...
Cathedral
In summer many aerial sports use the surrounding mountains such as
glidingGliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
,
hang glidingHang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
and
paraglidingParagliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
. In winter there is extensive skiing at eleven ski resorts.
See also
- Cantons of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
- Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
- Arrondissements of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
External links
Conseil général website