Hautes-Alpes

Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes
	Depairtment
	Coat airms
	Location o Hautes-Alpes in Fraunce
	Coordinates: 44°40′N 6°20′E / 44.667°N 6.333°E
Kintra	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefectur	Gap
Subprefecturs	Briançon
Govrenment
• Preses o the General Cooncil	Jean-Yves Dusserre (UMP)
Area
• Total	5549 km2 (2,142 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	132,482
• Rank	98t
• Density	24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Depairtment number	05
Arrondissements	2
Cantons	30
Communes	177
	^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, an lakes, ponds, an glaciers lairger than 1 km2

Hautes-Alpes (French pronunciation: [ot.z‿alp]; Occitan: Auts Aups) is a depairtment in sootheastren Fraunce namit efter the Alps muntain range.

History

Hautes-Alpes is ane o the oreeginal 83 depairtments creatit durin the French Revolution on 4 Mairch 1790. It consists o the sootheast o the umwhile province o Dauphiné an the north o Provence.

At the time when the depairtment wis creatit, the twa muntain communes o La Grave an Villar-d'Arêne successfully campaigned tae be includit in Hautes-Alpes an no in the neighbourin depairtment o Isère tae which thay haed oreeginally been assigned. This wis acause thay hoped tae benefit frae the relative autonomy an certain fiscal privileges enjoyed bi the region syne the fowerteent century unner the terms o the Statute o the Briançon Escartons.

Napoleon passed throu Gap when he returned tae reclaim Fraunce efter his exile on Elba.

Geography

The department is surroondit bi the follaein French depairtments: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Drôme, Isère, an Savoie. Italy borders it on the east.

Hautes-Alpes is locatit in the Alps muntain range. The average elevations is ower 1000 m, an the heichest elevation is ower 4000 m. The anerlie three sizable touns are Gap, Briançon, an Embrun, which wis the subprefectur till 1926.

The third heichest commune in aw o Europe is the veelage o Saint-Véran. Gap an Briançon are the heichest prefectur an subprefectur in Fraunce.

The follaeing rivers flow throu the depairtment:

The Durance haes been dammed tae create the mucklest airtificial lake in Europe: the Lac de Serre-Ponçon.

The Queyras valley is locatit in the eastren pairt o the depairtment an is notit bi mony as bein an aurie o ootstaundin beauty.

Demographics

The indwallers o the depairtment are cried Haut-Alpins.

The extremely muntainous terrain explains the spairse population, which wis oreeginally aboot 120,000. It chyngit little durin the 19t century, but fell tae aboot 85,000 efter Warld War I. Thanks in muckle pairt tae tourism, the population haes risen frae 87,436 in 1962 tae 121,419 in 1999, principally in the toun o Gap.

Politics

The Preses o the General Cooncil is Jean-Yves Dusserre o the Union for a Popular Muivement.

Tourism

The tourist industry is mucklely dependent on skiin in winter. In simmer the Alpine scenery an mony ootdoor activities attract visitors frae athort Europe (sailin, hikin, climbin an aerial sports such as glidin). The Tour de France passes throu the depairtment regularly. This draws mony cyclin fanatics tae cycle the cols an watch the race.

See an aw

Freemit airtins

Hautes-Alpes at Curlie

(in French) Offeecial Wabsteid Archived 2011-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
(in French) Prefectur wabsteid Archived 2004-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
(in French) General Cooncil wabsteid
(in French) A veelage in the French Alps built bi Vauban Archived 2008-11-06 at the Wayback Machine

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