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Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (; ) is a village in southern France in the Ardèche Department. The village is a gateway to one of the most beautiful tourist sites in France, the Ardèche Gorges, where the Ardèche river has carved a dramatic canyon through a limestone plateau. The village is named after the Pont d'Arc, a natural rock arch, which has been classified as a Great Site of France. Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is also the location of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the decorated cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc., and its replica, Chauvet Cave 2. The cave contains some of the earliest known prehistoric paintings in the world and constitutes an exceptional testimony of prehistoric cave art. In the center of the town is a château built in the 17th century, now the town hall, which is decorated with Aubusson tapestries, as well as the place couverte or old grain square, and the place du Verger. Sights * The Pont d'Arc * The Chauvet Cave is not open to the public. ...
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Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave ( ) in the Ardèche department of southeastern France is a cave that contains some of the best-preserved figurative cave paintings in the world, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life.Clottes (2003b), p. 214. It is located near the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc on a limestone cliff above the former bed of the river Ardèche, in the Gorges de l'Ardèche. Discovered on December 18, 1994, it is considered one of the most significant prehistoric art sites and the UN's cultural agency UNESCO granted it World Heritage status on June 22, 2014. The cave was first explored by a group of three speleologists: Eliette Brunel-Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet (for whom the cave was named) six months after an aperture now known as "Le Trou de Baba" ('Baba's Hole') was discovered by Michel Rosa (Baba). At a later date the group returned to the cave. Another member of this group, Michel Chabaud, along with two others, travelled furt ...
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Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche (; ) is a commune in the department of Ardèche in Southern France. Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is situated at the Southern entrance of the Ardèche Canyon, the ''Gorges de l'Ardèche''. Administration Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is member of the intercommunality of Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche together with nearby Ardèche communes of Bidon, Bourg-Saint-Andéol, Gras, Larnas, Saint-Montan, Saint-Just, Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche, Saint-Remèze and Viviers at the very south-eastern end of department. Population Geography A few kilometres from the main trail of the Rhône Valley between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean coast, a Gateway to Provence, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche lies underneath the silhouette of medieval Aiguèze at the outlet of the Ardèche Gorges carved through the limestone ''plateau de Gras'' (average 300 m high, culminating at the 719 m high ''Dent de Rez'', i.e. ''saw tooth'') (reïsse=saw in provençal). About between Vallon-Pont ...
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Ardèche
Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 07 Ardèche
INSEE
Its Prefectures of France, prefecture is in Privas, but its largest city is Annonay.


History


Prehistory and ancient history

Humans have inhabited the area at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Cave, Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The Ardèche river plateau has extensive standing stones (mainly dolmens and some menhirs), erected thousands of years ago. The river has one of Europe's largest canyons, and the caves that dot the cliffs—which go as high as 300 metres (1,00 ...
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Gorges De L'Ardèche
The Gorges de l'Ardèche is made up of a series of gorges in the river and locally known as the "European Grand Canyon", Located in the Ardèche, in the French department Ardèche, forming a thirty-kilometre long canyon running from Vallon-Pont-d'Arc to Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche. The lower part of the gorge forms the boundary between the Ardèche department and the Gard department. The canyon is a tourist attraction, drawing over a million visitors per year, in addition to a rich historical and archeological site. Most of the canyon is protected; it is governed by the Réserve Naturelle Gorges de l'Ardèche. Notable sights along the canyon include the Pont d'Arc at the beginning of the canyon, a natural arch 60 m wide and 54 m high. Much of the canyon is inaccessible except by water, and canoeing and kayaking are popular sports on the river. Overnight camping is not allowed, except for at two bivouac shelters. The cliffs offer habitat to rare birds such as the Bonelli's eagle. ( th ...
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Ardèche River
Ardèche (; , ; ) is a department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 07 Ardèche
INSEE
Its is in Privas, but its largest city is .


History


Prehistory and ancient history

Humans have inhabited the area at least since the



Pont D'Arc
The Pont d'Arc (French language, French ''pont'' = bridge) is a large natural arch, natural bridge, located in the Ardèche ''departments of France, département'' in the south of France, 5 km from the town of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. The arch, formed when the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche broke through a narrow escarpment between its meander, is wide and high at the top of the opening. It is a very popular canoeing and kayaking area and is heavily visited by tourists. It is usually described as the natural entrance to the Ardèche Canyon. In the near vicinity of the arch is the Chauvet cave, Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, containing one of the earliest known Paleolithic cave paintings, about 30,000 years old (featured in the 3D documentary ''Cave of Forgotten Dreams'' by film director Werner Herzog). References See also

* Chauvet Cave Natural arches of France Landforms of Ardèche Tourist attractions in Ardèche Rock formations of France Landforms of Auvergne-Rhône-Alp ...
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Communes Of The Ardèche Department
The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Périmètre des groupements en 2025
BANATIC. Accessed 28 May 2025.
*Communauté d'agglomération
Annonay Rhône Agglo Annonay Rhône Agglo is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the town of Annonay. It is located in the Ardèche department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southern France. Created in 2017, its seat i ...
*
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Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indicates a tropical rainforest climate. The system assigns a temperature subgroup for all groups other than those in the ''A'' group, indicated by the third letter for climates in ''B'', ''C'', ''D'', and the second letter for climates in ''E''. Other examples include: ''Cfb'' indicating an oceanic climate with warm summers as indicated by the ending ''b.'', while ''Dwb'' indicates a semi-Monsoon continental climate, monsoonal continental climate ...
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Humid Subtropical Climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° and are located poleward from adjacent tropical climates, and equatorward from either humid continental (in North America and Asia) or oceanic climates (in other continents). It is also known as warm temperate climate in some climate classifications. Under the Köppen climate classification, ''Cfa'' and ''Cwa'' climates are either described as humid subtropical climates or warm temperate climates. This climate features mean temperature in the coldest month between (or ) and and mean temperature in the warmest month or higher. However, while some climatologists have opted to describe this climate type as a "humid subtropical climate", Köppen himself never used this term. The humid subtropical climate classific ...
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Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding territories from Muslim rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which culminated in the Siege of Jerusalem (1099), capture of Jerusalem in 1099, these expeditions spanned centuries and became a central aspect of European political, religious, and military history. In 1095, after a Byzantine request for aid,Helen J. Nicholson, ''The Crusades'', (Greenwood Publishing, 2004), 6. Pope Urban II proclaimed the first expedition at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, AlexiosI Komnenos and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in Western Europe, there was an enthusiastic response. Participants came from all over Europe and had a ...
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Communes Of France
A () is a level of administrative divisions of France, administrative division in the France, French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipality, municipalities in Canada and the United States; ' in Germany; ' in Italy; ' in Spain; or civil parishes in the United Kingdom. are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlet (place), hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are ( or ), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers. Except for the Municipal arrondissem ...
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