Hautes-Alpes

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Hautes-Alpes

Hautes-Alpes is a département in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.

History

Hautes-Alpes was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It consists of the southeast of the former province of Dauphiné and the north of Provence.

Napoleon passed through Gap when he returned to reclaim France after his exile on Elba.

Geography

The département is surrounded by the following French départements: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Drôme, Isère, and Savoie. Italy borders it on the east.

Hautes-Alpes is located in the Alps mountain range. The average elevations is over 1000 m, and the highest elevation is over 4000 m. The only three real towns are Gap, Briançon, and Embrun, which was the subprefecture until 1926.

The highest commune in all of Europe is the village of Saint-Véran. Gap and Briançon are the highest prefecture and subprefecture in France.

The following rivers flow through the département:

The Durance has been dammed to create the largest artificial lake in Europe: the Lac de Serre-Ponçon.

The Queyras valley is located in the eastern part of the département and is noted by many as being an area of outstanding beauty.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the département are called Haut-Alpins.

The extremely mountainous terrain explains the sparse population, which was originally about 120,000. It changed little during the 19th century, but fell to about 85,000 after World War I. Thanks in large part to tourism, the population has risen from 87,436 in 1962 to 121,419 in 1999, principally in the town of Gap.

Tourism

The tourist industry is largely dependent on skiing in winter. In summer the Alpine scenery and many outdoor activities attract visitors (sailing, rambling, climbing and aerial sports such as gliding).

External links

Prefecture website (in French)
Conseil Général webstite (in French)
http://www.leshautesalpes.com/ (in French)