Title: Gap, Hautes-Alpes Content: Gap is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is the préfecture (capital), and main city, of the department. Gap is the highest prefecture (departmental capital) of France; the city is in a valley whose bottom is at an altitude of about above sea level. ==Geography== Gap is in the south central part of the Hautes- Alpes department. The Luye, a tributary of the Durance river, flows through the city. It has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is . The distances from Gap to other cities are: * Paris, the national capital - ; * Marseille, the regional capital - ; * Strasbourg - ; * Reims - ; * Bordeaux - ; * Toulouse - ; * Montpellier - ; * Lyon - ; * Nice - .  The commune of Gap is surrounded by 17 communes: Laye, Saint-Laurent- du-Cros, Forest-Saint-Julien, La Rochette, Rambaud, Jarjayes, Neffes, Châteauvieux, Lettret, Pelleautier, La Roche-des-Arnauds, La Freissinouse, La Fare-en-Champsaur, Poligny, Le Noyer, Le Dévoluy, Rabou ===Climate=== The climate of Gap, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers. ==Population== The inhabitants of Gap are known, in French, as Gapençais (women: Gapençaises). With a population of 40,225, Gap has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Gap Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:45000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1968 text:1968 bar:1975 text:1975 bar:1982 text:1982 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 23994 bar:1975 from:0 till: 28233 bar:1982 from:0 till: 30676 bar:1990 from:0 till: 33444 bar:1999 from:0 till: 36262 bar:2006 from:0 till: 37332 bar:2011 from:0 till: 40654 bar:2014 from:0 till: 40225 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 23994 fontsize:S text: 23,994 shift:(-12,12) bar:1975 at: 28233 fontsize:S text: 28,233 shift:(-15,5) bar:1982 at: 30676 fontsize:S text: 30,676 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at: 33444 fontsize:S text: 33,444 shift:(-15,5) bar:1999 at: 36262 fontsize:S text: 36,262 shift:(-15,5) bar:2006 at: 37332 fontsize:S text: 37,332 shift:(-15,5) bar:2011 at: 40654 fontsize:S text: 40,654 shift:(-15,5) bar:2014 at: 40225 fontsize:S text: 40,225 shift:(-15,5) Gap forms with La Rochette the urban area of Gap with a population of 40,700 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Gap, formed by 39 communes, with a population of 62,567 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . ==Administration== Gap is the prefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department, the capital of the arrondissement of Gap and the administrative centre  of four cantons: * Gap-1 formed by a part of Gap, with 9,895 inhabitants (2014). * Gap-2 formed by a part of Gap, with 10,743 inhabitants (2014). * Gap-3 formed by a part of Gap, with 10,346 inhabitants (2014). * Gap-4 formed by a part of Gap, with 9,241 inhabitants (2014). It is part of the intercommunality Gap-Tallard-Durance . === Twin towns === Gap is twinned with: * Pinerolo, Italy, since 1966; * Traunstein, Germany, since 1976. ==Gallery== thumb|650px|center|alt=A panoramic view of Gap|A panoramic view of Gap File:Gap025.jpg|Carnot street, Gap. File:Gap020.jpg|Gap. File:Musée départemental05.JPG|The Departemental Museum of Gap. File:Place J. Marcellin.JPG|Jean-Marcellin square. File:Gap022.jpg|alt=The Luye at Gap, near to the Parc de la Pépinière|The Luye at Gap, near the Parc de la Pépinière.