Bouches-du-Rhône

**Bouches-du-Rhône** (, lit. "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region with more people living in it.

## History

Bouches-du-Rhône is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was made with part of the old province of Provence and was divided in six districts: Tarascon, Apt, Aix, Marseille, Salon and Arles, with Aix as is capital.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into three _arrondissements_: Marseille, Aix and Tarascon. The prefecture was moved from Aix to Marseille.

After the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), the department was occupied by the Austrian army from June 1815 to November 1818.

In 1817, the subprefecture of Tarascon was moved to Arles. The _arrondissement_ of Istres was created in 1981.

## Geography

The Bouches-du-Rhône department is part of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It has an area of .

The department is surrounded by 3 departments in 2 regions:
- Occitanie region
    - Gard, to the west
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
    - Vaucluse to the north
    - Var to the east

The Mediterranean Sea is to the south and there is  of coast.

The highest mountain in Bouches-du-Rhône is **Bertagne** () in the Sainte-Baume Mountains. Bertagne is in the east of the department near the border with the Var department. It is   high.

The Rhone River is the western border of the department, and Durance River is its northern border. South of Arles, the Rhone divides into the Grand Rhone (Large Rhone) and the Petit Rhone (Small Rhone). The area between the Grand Rhone and the Petit Rhone is a large wetland called the Camargue.

The **Frioul Archipelago** is a group of 4 islands in the Mediterranean Sea almost   from Marseille.

### Climate

The type of climate around Marseille is called the Mediterranean climate, with a subtype called Csa. The area around Marseille, at an altitude of about , has dry summers.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Marseille is . October has the highest average precipitation with  and July the lowest with .

The average temperature in Marseille is . July is warmest, with an average temperature of . January is coolest, with an average temperature of .

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## Administration

Bouches-du-Rhône is managed by a departmental council in Marseille. The department is part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

### Administrative divisions

Bouches-du-Rhône has 4 _arrondissements_ (districts), 29 _cantons_, and 135 _communes_ (municipalities).

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population (2014) !! width="50px" | Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|131|Aix-en-Provence|Aix-en-Provence|429,436|1,532.4||44|
|132|Arles|Arles|205,529|2,284.3||36|
|133|Marseille|Marseille|1,058,615|671.6||37|
|134|Istres|Istres|312,489|599.3||18|

Recently the French government decided to reorganise all the nation's cantons. This change went into effect in March 2015. These are the 29 reorganised cantons of the Bouches-du-Rhône department:

1. Aix-en-Provence-1 <small>(1301)</small>
1. Aix-en-Provence-2 <small>(1302)</small>
1. Allauch <small>(1303)</small>
1. Arles <small>(1304)</small>
1. Aubagne <small>(1305)</small>
1. Berre-l'Étang <small>(1306)</small>
1. Châteaurenard <small>(1307)</small>
1. La Ciotat <small>(1308)</small>
1. Gardanne <small>(1309)</small>
1. Istres <small>(1310)</small>
1. Marignane <small>(1311)</small>
1. Marseille-1 <small>(1312)</small>
1. Marseille-2 <small>(1313)</small>
1. Marseille-3 <small>(1314)</small>
1. Marseille-4 <small>(1315)</small>
1. Marseille-5 <small>(1316)</small>
1. Marseille-6 <small>(1317)</small>
1. Marseille-7 <small>(1318)</small>
1. Marseille-8 <small>(1319)</small>
1. Marseille-9 <small>(1320)</small>
1. Marseille-10 <small>(1321)</small>
1. Marseille-11 <small>(1322)</small>
1. Marseille-12 <small>(1323)</small>
1. Martigues <small>(1324)</small>
1. Pélissanne <small>(1325)</small>
1. Salon-de-Provence-1 <small>(1326)</small>
1. Salon-de-Provence-2 <small>(1327)</small>
1. Trets <small>(1328)</small>
1. Vitrolles <small>(1329)</small>

## Demographics

People who live in the Bouches-du-Rhône department are known, in French, as _Buccorhodaniens_ (men) or _Buccorhodaniennes_ (women).

In 2014, Bouches-du-Rhône had 2,006,069 people living there,  or  people/km<sup>2</sup>. In the same year, the Marseille _arrondissement_ had the highest population of the four _arrondissements_: 1,058,615.

**Population growth in Bouches-du-Rhône**

These are the 10 _communes_ with the highest population:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Marseille|858,120|Marseille|
|Aix-en-Provence|142,149|Aix-en-Provence|
|Arles|52,697|Arles|
|Martigues|48,870|Istres|
|Aubagne|45,128|Marseille|
|Salon-de-Provence|44,187|Aix-en-Provence|
|Istres|43,463|Istres|
|La Ciotat|35,631|Marseille|
|Vitrolles|34,236|Istres|
|Marignane|34,154|Istres|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
- Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture of the Bouches-du-Rhône department

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Bouches-du-Rhône
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Préfecture-région-Marseille.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in Marseille
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in Marseille
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Bouches-du-Rhône.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Bouches-du-Rhône.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Bouches-du-Rhône-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Bouches-du-Rhône in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Provence-Alpes-
Côte d'Azur
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Marseille
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Aix-en-Provence
- **p2**: Arles
- **p3**: Istres
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Martine Vassal
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 5087.5
- **population total**: 2006069
- **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**: 29
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 135
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-13