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Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 26 Drôme
INSEE
Drôme's prefecture is Valence.


History

Saint-Vallier in Drôme was the birthplace of one of France's most famous courtesans, the noble-born Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566), long-term mistress of
King Henri II Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brot ...
(1519–1559). The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. The territory formed part of the former
French province The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 2 ...
of Dauphiné. The original Drôme department contained the exclave of Orange, which was also part of the former province of Dauphiné. In 1792, following the annexation of
Comtat Venaissin The Comtat Venaissin (; Provençal: , Mistralian norm: , classical norm: ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States (1274‒1791) in what is now the region of France. The entire region was an enclav ...
, Drôme acquired the newly created district of Carpentras while Orange was ceded to Bouches du Rhône. In 1793, the district of Carpentras was ceded to the newly formed department of Vaucluse, giving the Drôme its modern-day borders.


Geography

Drôme lies within the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Drôme is bordered by Ardèche to the west, Isère to the north and east, Hautes-Alpes to the east, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the southeast and Vaucluse to the south. The northwestern tip of the department is only 3 miles (5 km) from the Loire border. The boundaries of the department have changed several times with the incorporation of the
Comtat Venaissin The Comtat Venaissin (; Provençal: , Mistralian norm: , classical norm: ; 'County of Venaissin'), often called the for short, was a part of the Papal States (1274‒1791) in what is now the region of France. The entire region was an enclav ...
in 1792 and the creation of the Vaucluse department in 1793. Drôme surrounds an exclave of the Vaucluse department, the
Canton of Valréas The canton of Valréas, sometimes called the ''enclave des Papes'' ("Enclave of the Popes"), is a canton of the Vaucluse department, a part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region in Southern France. It consists of four communes: Grillo ...
( Enclave des Papes). The commune of Montfroc forms an small salient which was surrounded by the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, which is lookly similar to the small salients of Newmarket in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
, Dieveniškės in Lithuania, Bogatynia in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, West Bengal and Sikkim in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, and the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. It also the pene-exclave of the department. The department contains 363 communes. The smallest commune in France, Rochefourchat, with a population only of one person, is in Drôme.


Climate

The Drôme department is in a zone of transition between the oceanic climate of
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
, the continental climate to the north and the Mediterranean climate of Provence to the south. In the Rhône valley, the meeting of the mild humid southern Mediterranean air masses with the colder northern air mass sometimes causes particularly violent thunderstorms and snowstorms. In the northern hills near
Tain-l'Hermitage Tain-l'Hermitage (; oc, Tinh de l'Ermitatge or ), commonly known as Tain, is a commune in the French department of Drôme, southeastern France. Geography It is located on the left bank of the river Rhône, opposite Tournon-sur-Rhône, which is ...
(15 km north of Valence), the climate is a mixture of oceanic and semi-continental climates. Rainfall occurs throughout the year with the most falling in spring and autumn. The summers are moderated by storms and the mistral does not blow hard. Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse has a moderate temperature of 3 °C in January and 21 °C in July due to the Lyonnic climate, where more precipitation falls in summer than winter. The influence of the mountains is evident in the east. In the Vercors Plateau, the
mountain climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...
is wet due to the oceanic influences from the north. The average annual temperature at Lus la Croix Haute at altitude 1061m is 7.3 °C and the annual rainfall is 1051mm. The Diois (southern Vercors) and the
Baronnies The Baronnies, in French Les Baronnies, is a historic name for the area East and North of Mont Ventoux in Southern France. Today most of the Baronnies is part of the ''département'' Drôme (a part of the ''région'' Rhône-Alpes). Smaller areas ...
are dry regions due to the Mediterranean climate. The mistral is less influential here and this region has minimal rainfall. The lowest temperatures in January at Nyons is 0.3 °C but 1.4 °C at Pierrelatte. The Valence plane is a transition zone between the Mediterranean influence and the northern cold climate. Summers are warmer than in the northern regions, and the increase in sunlight and heat is evident upon the appearance of Mediterranean vegetation in the region. The temperatures are moderate between Lyon and Montélimar. Valence's average temperature in January is 3.8 °C and 22 °C in July. The mistral here blows harder. From Montélimar, the climate can be considered to be that of a Mediterranean climate. Near the highway, the change of vegetation is particularly visible near the stream at Donzère, particularly due to the change of the soil profile. The most southern part of the department clearly exhibits a Méso-Mediterranean climate with the reinforcement of the mistral and a hotter summer due to the rarity of storms. Most rainfall occurs in autumn and the winters are milder than the rest of the Drôme. Pierrelatte has an average temperature of 5 °C in January and 23 °C in July.


Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called ''Drômois''.


Principal towns

The most populous commune, home to about 1/8 of the department's population, is Valence, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:


Economy

Most of the economic activity of the Drôme department is located in the west of the department, along the Rhône valley. This area which contains most of the population of the department, also has accessible transportation, such as the A7 autoroute and the rail routes
LGV Rhône-Alpes The LGV Rhône-Alpes (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line situated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region which extends the LGV Sud-Est southwards. Opened to service in 1994, the line b ...
and
LGV Méditerranée The LGV Méditerranée (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: Mediterranean high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line running between Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, Drôme and Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, also featuring a connect ...
. Economic activity in Valence was boosted by the creation of the Valence TGV line in 2001.


Statistics

*''Total employment (2004)'': 158 930 (about 10.6% is self-employed) *''Unemployment rate (2006)'': 9.9% *''Jobs per sector of activity (2005)'' **Agriculture: 6.0% **Industry: 20.4% **BTP: 6.8% **Commerce: 15.0% **Services: 51.8% *''Qualification of Jobs (1999)'' **Farmers: 4.0% **CEO: 7.8% **Executives: 9.6% **Technicians and associate professionals: 23.0% **Employees: 27.2% **Labourers: 28.5% *''Average annual salary (2004)'' **CEO: 53 113 € **Executives: 39 265 € **Technicians and associate professionals: 22 927 € **Employees: 15 688 € **Labourers: 16 344 € **Apprentices and labourers : 7 498 €


Tourism

*The Drôme benefits from an excellent image in the view of tourists. Attendance has grown steadily (+4% between 2006 and 2007), faster than the neighbouring departments of Ardèche and the Vaucluse (+1%). *Number of overnight stays in 2007: 7,994,076 *The Tourism Committee of the Drôme department's websit
La Drôme, du Vercors à la Provence
received over 44000 visits in 2007, along with a new TV statio
Drome.tv


Main companies


Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Marie-Pierre Mouton, elected in May 2017.


Current National Assembly Representatives


Tourism

Sport activities in Drôme include: * in winter: skiing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing * in summer: excursions, mountain biking in the mountainous area The Drôme River is also a great place to practice canoëing and kayaking. In the spring the water flow even allows you to practice rafting. The Saoü Forest is known for its climbing paths. File:Valence cathedrale 2003-12-10 047.jpg, Valence Cathedral File:Dielavan.jpg, Lavender fields near
Die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
File:France Provence Grignan castle château.JPG, Grignan town and castle File:P1130738 modified.jpg,
Ferdinand Cheval Ferdinand Cheval (19 April 1836 – 19 August 1924), often nicknamed Facteur Cheval ("Mail Carrier Cheval") was a French mail carrier who spent 33 years building Le Palais idéal (the "Ideal Palace") in Hauterives, in southeastern France.
's palace File:Vercors Glandasse.jpg, Vercors Plateau File:Nougat de Montélimar - 20090704.jpg, Nougat from Montélimar


See also

* Cantons of the Drôme department *
Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Arrondissements of the Drôme department * Marie Louis Descorches


References


External links

* *
Prefecture website
*
Departement Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drome 1790 establishments in France Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Economy of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes States and territories established in 1790