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Hautes-Alpes

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Hautes-Alpes
Coat of airms o Hautes-Alpes
Coat airms
Location o Hautes-Alpes in Fraunce
Location o Hautes-Alpes in Fraunce
Coordinates: 44°40′N 6°20′E / 44.667°N 6.333°E / 44.667; 6.333
KintraFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
PrefecturGap
SubprefectursBriançon
Govrenment
 • Preses o the General CooncilJean-Yves Dusserre (UMP)
Area
 • Total5549 km2 (2,142 sq mi)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total132,482
 • Rank98t
 • Density24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Depairtment number05
Arrondissements2
Cantons30
Communes177
^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

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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

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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

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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

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

Tourism

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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

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Freemit airtins

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Hautes-Alpes at Curlie