Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes to the north. Formerly part of the province of Provence, it had a population of 168,054 in 2023, which makes it the 8th least populated French department.
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence's main cities are Digne-les-Bains (prefecture), Manosque, Sisteron, Barcelonnette, Castellane and Forcalquier. Inhabitants are called the Bas-Alpins (masculine) or Bas-Alpines (feminine) in reference to the department's former name, Basses-Alpes, which was in use until 1970. Although the prefecture is Digne-les-Bains, the largest city is Manosque. Alpes-de-Haute-Provence's INSEE and postal code is 04.
Geography The departmental can be divided into three zones depending on the terrain, climate, population and economy: the plateaux, hills and valleys of Haute-Provence, which comprise one-third of the area but two-thirds of the population and the most important cities of the department with almost all of the economic activity apart from mountain tourism. The valley of the Durance, the artery of the department, cuts the rest of the department into two parts: the Lower Alps: an intermediate mountain area with valleys and very remote villages the High Alps: including the valleys of Ubaye, Blanche, and the high Verdon (upstream of Colmars-les-Alpes) where the economy is built around mountain tourism (skiing). In the Haute-Ubaye, the mountain peaks exceed 3000 m above sea level and all the passes are close to or above 2000 m in altitude. In this part of the department is one of the highest roads in Europe: the main road D64 reaches an altitude of 2802 m near the Col de la Bonette (2715 m) and connects the region of Barcelonnette to the Tinée and Vésubie valleys.
The relief of the land compartmentalises the region: the enclosed valleys are difficult to access, so dividing the country into as many local areas which communicate very little with the outside. In 1877, 55 communes only had access to trails or mule paths.Raymond Collier, Haute-Provence monumental and artistic, Digne, Imprimerie Louis Jean, 1986, 559 pages, p. 420
The seismic hazard is moderate (zone 3) to medium (zone 4) with different faults such as the Durance located in the department.Decree on seismic risk in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 2010
Hydrology
The main river is the Durance which runs in the west of the department. It is in the Durance valley that the most important traffic routes are found: the A51 autoroute and the railway main line. Almost all of the department is in the watershed of the Durance except for the extreme south-east (the cantons of Annot and Entrevaux) which are drained by the Var.
The main tributaries of the Durance in the department are the Ubaye, the Bléone, the Asse, the Verdon on the left bank, the Buëch, the Jabron, and the Largue on the right bank.
The Durance and its tributaries have a torrential character, with a transition between the snow regime of the high valleys and the Mediterranean rainfall regime in the lower mountains and below. The summer low water levels are severe and violent floods occur when heavy rains fall which is often in autumn. The Durance, Verdon, Bléone and Buëch have had the construction of several dams and the diversion of parts of the river for irrigation and power generation in the 20th century.
Climate The climate of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department is a Mediterranean climate degrading by altitude and latitude. In fact, while in the lower valleys and flat lands of Haute-Provence an inland Mediterranean climate prevails, by contrast in the hills it is more mixed with the valley of the Ubaye characteristic of the inner Alps, with a marked continentality: winters are very harsh with stormy summers. In between, the two influences mingle in the area of the Lower Alps. The characteristics of both climate trends are found throughout the department to a greater or lesser extent: dry air and little fog (less than 20 days per year) infrequent rainfall (less than 90 days per year) but heavy (650 to 1500 mm per year) frequent thunderstorms in the mountains in summer High sunshine hours in all seasons (2550 to 2850 hours per year) high thermal amplitudes, diurnal (over 10 °C) and annual (18 °C) fresh and bright winters very hot summers barely tempered by altitude.
Haute-Provence is therefore of interest to European astronomers looking for a partly cloudy night sky and one not affected by light pollution. Many amateur observatories have been built, and the Observatoire de Haute-Provence is one of the largest observatories in continental Europe. It is an active astronomy research centre.
Demographics
The population was once fairly evenly distributed in the territory, including in the mountainous areas where mountain agriculture was well developed. From the middle of the 19th century, however, it began to decline due to a strong rural exodus. There were more than 150,000 inhabitants in 1850 but it fell to less than 100,000 after the First World War. It was not until 1960 that the trend changed upwards quite strongly from less than 90,000 in 1954 to nearly 140,000 in 1999 and 168,054 in 2023 (population density 24 inhabitants/km2). However, if this figure is close to the number of inhabitants the department had 150 years earlier, the distribution and activity of the population are very different. The population is now concentrated in the valley of the Durance and the South West of the department, and agriculture employs less than ever before. Services, mainly tourism and local services, is now the main industry.
The population of the department is sightly similar to Guam.
The department has never really developed: in 1870 there were 27 small mines (one lead, four oil shale and 22 lignite).Irène Magnaudeix, Sitting Stone, Moving Stone: usage and representation of stone by the inhabitants of Haut-Vançon, Mane, Les Alpes de Lumière, Forcalquier, 2004. , p 124
A departmental resort According to the general census of the population, 32.8% of available housing in the department are second homes.
A very dense and very uneven settlement The department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is one of the least densely populated of France with barely more than 20 inhabitants per km2. The population is concentrated mainly in the valleys of the Durance, the Bléone (up to Digne) and the nearby flat lands. The rest of the department is sparsely populated (less than 10 inhabitants per km2 over most of the territory).
82 (41%) of the communes have less than 200 inhabitants, 7 communes have less than 50 and many villages have been abandoned. The towns are small: only Digne-les-Bains and Manosque approach or exceed 20,000 people. The arrondissement of Barcelonnette is the least populated arrondissement in France and the only one in France with less than 10,000 inhabitants. The city of Castellane is the smallest sub-prefecture in France.
Among the 15 cantons in the department, 5 have a resident population of less than 10,000 inhabitants: Barcelonnette, Castellane, Riez, Seyne, and Valensole.Populations de référence 2023: 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, INSEE
The ten most populous communes are:
Commune Population (2023) Manosque 22,718 Digne-les-Bains 17,979 Sisteron 7,850 Oraison 6,155 Forcalquier 5,222 Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban 5,107 Villeneuve 4,360 Les Mées 4,099 Pierrevert 3,945 Sainte-Tulle 3,558
In contrast, the three communes with less than 20 inhabitants in 2023 were Archail (14 inhabitants), Saint-Martin-lès-Seyne (7 inh.) and Majastres (5 inh.).
History Basses-Alpes was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 under the Act of 22 December 1789.
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 to Vaucluse at this point. Seventeen years later, in 1810, the canton of Barcillonnette was transferred over to Hautes-Alpes.
The department of Basses-Alpes was occupied by fascist Italy from November 1942 to September 1943.Stéphane Simonnet, Atlas of the Libération of France, Autrement, Paris, 1994, reprinted 2004, (), p 60,
On 13 April 1970, the department of Basses-Alpes was renamed to Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Here is an unflattering excerpt from an article called "Basse Alpes" from the Atlas Larousse published at the beginning of the 20th century:
"Scattered whitish rocks stand out like bones, a thin topsoil where bushes languish, some mountain flowers and stunted trees ... these mountains form almost everywhere a dreadful desert which will not have more inhabitants: this is the Sahara without the sun of Africa, with the snows of Siberia." (P. Joanne).
"On these steep slopes deforestation and flooding have resulted in a lack of fertile soil and agriculture has been the most miserable. There is a small harvest of wheat, wine in small quantities (but good), and truffles in large numbers. In the southern part, which has the climate of Provence, there are olive trees, mulberry trees, and orange trees. Aromatic plants abound, and there are 250,000 beehives. Manosque because its location is by far the second largest city of the department (with 5,500 inhabitants). Near Manosque are the lignite and gypsum mines. Despite a fairly active trade in olive oil, wine and raw silk, this department is also one of the least populated." (Larousse Illustrated Atlas, Printing Larousse, Paris, 1900).
Heraldry
Administrative division
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is subdivided into 4 arrondissements, 15 cantons and 198 communes.
Arrondissement # of communes Barcelonnette 14 Castellane 41 Digne-les-Bains 46 Forcalquier 97
Ancient communes and changes to the administrative divisions of the communes The rural exodus of the 19th and 20th centuries has had a significant impact on the population of towns: some were completely or almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants which led to the disappearance of fifty communes since the creation of the department. Some villages still exist and sometimes gave their name to a new commune created by mergers (e.g. La Mure-Argens) and others are nothing more than a pile of stones (like Levens in the commune of Majastres). They are sometimes listed on maps (e.g. Bédejun in the commune of Chaudon-Norante). At its formation, the department had 270 communes (262 after changing the limits of the department) but it is now 198. Apart from eight communes which were attached either to Hautes-Alpes (the three communes of the Barcillonnette canton, or to Vaucluse (the canton of Sault) many communes have disappeared.
In 1854, the state of communes in the department was as follows:Encyclopédies théologiques Dictionary of Sacred and Ecclesiastical Geography published by M. l'abbé Jacques-Paul Migne, 1854, éditeur de la bibliothèque universelle du clergé Arrondissement of Barcelonnette: 20 communes, 4 cantons Arrondissement of Castellane: 48 communes, 6 cantons Arrondissement of Digne-les-Bains: 87 communes, 9 cantons Arrondissement of Forcalquier: 51 communes, 6 cantons Arrondissement of Sisteron (former): 50 communes, 5 cantons
in total 256 towns and 30 townships.
Special cases of mergers and changes in municipal boundaries some communes have chosen a name without historical connection, e.g. Val-de-Chalvagne formed by the merger of three communes (Castellet-Saint-Cassian, Montblanc and Villevieille) some communes have absorbed a large number of others – such was the case of Digne and Castellane with seven towns merged: Villars-Brandis, Taloire, Eoulx, Taulane, Chasteuil, and Castillon when creating the namesake
Also some other noteworthy atypical cases: