Tarascon

Tarascon Castle on the Rhône River

Coat of arms

Tarascon

Location within Provence-A.-C.d'A. region

Tarascon

Coordinates: 43°48′21″N 4°39′37″E / 43.8058°N 4.6603°ECoordinates: 43°48′21″N 4°39′37″E / 43.8058°N 4.6603°E

Country

France

Region

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Arles-Crau-Camargue-Montagnette

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Charles Fab

Area¹

73.97 km² (28.56 sq mi)

Population (2012)²

13,540

• Density

180/km² (470/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

13108 / 13150

Elevation

3–200 m (9.8–656.2 ft)
(avg. 17 m or 56 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Tarascon (Occitan: Tarascon), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasconnaises. The patron saint of the city is Saint Martha, whose motto is "Concordia Felix".

Tarascon is located 23 km (14 mi) south of Avignon and 20 km (12 mi) north of Arles, on the left (east) bank of the Rhône River. On the other side is the similarly sized town of Beaucaire in the département of Gard, région of Languedoc-Roussillon. Directly opposite each other and connected by several bridges, Beaucaire and Tarascon effectively constitute one town, with about 30,000 inhabitants. An irrigation canal of 18,00 km length rejoins the Rhone near Tarascon.

The climate in the Alpilles is considered Mediterranean. The winters are mild and dry and the summers hot and dry. The maximum temperature is observed in July and August (+ 29 °C = ~84 °F), the minimum temperature in December and January (+ 3 °C = ~37 °F). The most rainy month is January with seven days of rain on average, against two days in July, the driest month. The Alpilles region receives more rainfall than the coast of the Mediterranean: 500 mm / year in the Camargue against 600–700 mm / year for the Alpilles. The mistral blows violently from the north or northwest, especially in winter and spring . The mistral blows strongly 100 days a year on average and more weakly for 83 days, which leaves only 182 windless days per year. Two types are distinguished ; the "white mistral", which clears the sky, and the rarer "black mistral", which is accompanied with rain.

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Wikipedia