Basses Alpes
| Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | |||
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| Department | |||
Prefecture building of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, in Digne-les-Bains
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 Location of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France |
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| Coordinates: 44°0′N 6°10′E / 44.000°N 6.167°ECoordinates: 44°0′N 6°10′E / 44.000°N 6.167°E | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | ||
| Prefecture | Digne-les-Bains | ||
| Subprefectures |
Barcelonnette Castellane Forcalquier |
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| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Gilbert Sauvan (PS) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 6,925 km2 (2,674 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 161,916 | ||
| • Rank | 94th | ||
| • Density | 23/km2 (61/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Department number | 04 | ||
| Arrondissements | 4 | ||
| Cantons | 15 | ||
| Communes | 198 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |||
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (French pronunciation: [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 province of Provence.
Its inhabitants are called the Bas-Alpins or Bas-Alpines referring to the department of Basses-Alpes which was the former name of the department until 13 April 1970.
Bounded in the east by Italy, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department is surrounded by the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Vaucluse, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. It can be divided into three zones depending on the terrain, climate, population, and economy:
The relief of the land compartmentalises the region: the enclosed valleys are difficult to access so dividing the country into as many local areas which communicate very little with the outside. In 1877, 55 communes only had access to trails or mule paths.
The seismic hazard is moderate (zone 3) to medium (zone 4) with different faults such as the Durance located in the department.
The main cities are Manosque, Digne-les-Bains, Sisteron, Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban, Oraison, Forcalquier, Les Mées, Pierrevert, Villeneuve, Sainte-Tulle, Gréoux-les-Bains, Barcelonnette, and Castellane.
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Wikipedia