Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

**Alpes-de-Haute-Provence** () is a department in the south of France, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its prefecture is Digne-les-Bains.

Until 1970, the department was named as _Basses-Alpes_.

## History

The department of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, with the name of _Nord-de-Provence_ was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 but soon its name was changed to _Haute-Provence_ and then to  _Basses-Alpes_.

It was divided in five districts: Barcelonnette, Castellane, Digne, Forcalquier and Sisteron. with Digne as its capital.

On 12 August 1793, the department of Vaucluse was created from parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes. Basses-Alpes lost the canton of Sault of Vaucluse. Seventeen years later, in 1810, the canton of Barcillonnette was transferred over to Hautes-Alpes.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the five districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Barcelonnette, Castellane, Digne, Forcalquier and Sisteron.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Castellane and Sisteron were eliminated and in 1942 Castellane was made again an arrondissement of the department.

During World War II, the department was occupied by the fascist Italy.

The name of the capital, Digne, was changed to Digne-les-Bains in 1988 and on 13 April 1970 the department of Basses-Alpes was renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

## Geography

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It has an area of .

The department is surrounded by Italy and five departments in two regions:
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
    - Hautes-Alpes (north)
    - Alpes-Maritimes (east)
    - Var (south)
    - Vaucluse (west)
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
    - Drôme (northwest)

The highest point is  _Aiguille de Chambeyron_ (), in the "commune" of Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, to the northeast of the Ubaye valley; it is  . Other high mountains in the department are _Brec de Chambeyron_ (), _Pics de la Font Sancte_ (), _Grand Bérard_, () and _Tête de Siguret_ ().

The main river in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is the Durance, a tributary of the Rhône river and that flows through the west of the department. Its main tributaries are the Bléone and Verdon.

The Var river flows through the eastern part of the department.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at the Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban airport is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

## Administration

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is managed by the _Departamental Council of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence_ in Digne-les-Bains. The department is part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 4 _arrondissements_ (districts), 15 _cantons_ and 198 _communes_ (municipalities) in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! width="50px" | Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|041|Barcelonnette|Barcelonnette|8,004|1,027.7||14|
|042|Castellane|Castellane|9,493|1,320.4||41|
|043|Digne-les-Bains|Digne-les-Bains|55,758|2,465.5||46|
|044|Forcalquier|Forcalquier|88,333|2,111.6||97|

The following is a list of the 15 cantons of the **Alpes-de-Haute-Provence** department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Barcelonnette <small>(0401)</small>
1. Castellane <small>(0402)</small>
1. Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban <small>(0403)</small>
1. Digne-les-Bains-1 <small>(0404)</small>
1. Digne-les-Bains-2 <small>(0405)</small>
1. Forcalquier <small>(0406)</small>
1. Manosque-1 <small>(0407)</small>
1. Manosque-2 <small>(0408)</small>
1. Manosque-3 <small>(0409)</small>
1. Oraison <small>(0410)</small>
1. Reillanne <small>(0411)</small>
1. Riez <small>(0412)</small>
1. Seyne <small>(0413)</small>
1. Sisteron <small>(0414)</small>
1. Valensole <small>(0415)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence are known, in French, as _Bas-Alpins_ (women: _Bas-Alpines_), referring to the department of _Basses-Alpes_ which was the former name of the department until 13 April 1970.

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence had a population, in 2014, of 161,588, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Forcalquier, with 88,333 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence**

The 10 _communes_ in the department with more inhabitants are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Manosque|21,941|Forcalquier|
|Digne-les-Bains|16,304|Digne-les-Bains|
|Sisteron|7,281|Forcalquier|
|Oraison|5,792|Digne-les-Bains|
|Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban|5,210|Forcalquier|
|Forcalquier|4,910|Forcalquier|
|Villeneuve|4,048|Forcalquier|
|Pierrevert|3,690|Forcalquier|
|Les Mées|3,629|Digne-les-Bains|
|Sainte-Tulle|3,398|Forcalquier|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department
- Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website
- Alpes-de-Haute-Provence tourism
- Provenceweb tourist guide

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Préfecture de Digne.JPG
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, in Digne-les-Bains
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, in Digne-les-Bains
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Digne-les-Bains
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Barcelonnette
- **p2**: Castellane
- **p3**: Forcalquier
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Gilbert Sauvan
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6925.2
- **population total**: 161588
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 4
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 15
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 198
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-04
- **website**: [http://www.mondepartement04.fr/accueil.html www.mondepartement04.fr]