Hautes Alpes

Hautes-Alpes
Department
Prefecture building of the Hautes-Alpes department, in Gap
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Hautes-Alpes in France
Coordinates: 44°40′N 6°20′E / 44.667°N 6.333°E / 44.667; 6.333Coordinates: 44°40′N 6°20′E / 44.667°N 6.333°E / 44.667; 6.333
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefecture	Gap
Subprefectures	Briançon
Government
• President of the General Council	Jean-Yves Dusserre (UMP)
Area
• Total	5,549 km2 (2,142 sq mi)
Elevation	1,665 m (5,463 ft)
Highest elevation	4,101 m (13,455 ft)
Lowest elevation	470 m (1,540 ft)
Population (2013)
• Total	139,279
• Rank	99th
• Density	25/km2 (65/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	05
Arrondissements	2
Cantons	15
Communes	168
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Hautes-Alpes (French pronunciation: ​[ot.z‿alp]; Occitan: Auts Aups) is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.

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

At the time when the department was created, the two mountain communes of La Grave and Villar-d'Arêne successfully campaigned to be included in Hautes-Alpes and not in the neighbouring department of Isère to which they had originally been assigned. This was because they hoped to benefit from the relative autonomy and certain fiscal privileges enjoyed by the region since the fourteenth century under the terms of the .

Napoleon passed through Gap when he returned to reclaim France after his exile on Elba using what is now known as Route Napoléon.

The department is surrounded by the following French departments: 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 elevation is over 1000 m, and the highest elevation is over 4000 m. The only three sizable towns are Gap, Briançon, and Embrun, which was the subprefecture until 1926.