The Ubaye Valley is an area in the Alpes de Haute-Provence ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'', in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

, having approximately 7,700 residents.Ubaye - Vallée de l'Ubaye - Ubaye, Barcelonnette, la Condamine-Châtelard, Enchastrayes, le Sauze, Faucon, Jausiers, Larche, Lauzet Ubaye, Méolans Revel, Laverq, Meyronnes, Saint Ours, Pontis, Saint Paul sur Ubaye, Serennes, Maurin, Maljasset, Saint Pons, les Thuiles, Uvernet Fours, Bayasse, Pra-Loup, la Bréole, Saint-Vincent-les-Forts, Chambeyron, Séolane, Parpaillon
/ref> Its residents are called ''Ubayens''. Its principal town is the ''

sous-préfecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures ...

'' of

Barcelonnette Barcelonnette (; , also ; obsolete ) is a Communes of France, commune of France and a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Departments of France, department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is l ...

. 350px, A view of the Ubaye valley

Ubaye River - Hydrography

*The Ubaye River gives its name to the valley. The Ubaye rises on the Franco-Italian border, in Longet Lake, in the ''massif'' of Monte Viso. It runs from east to west for , before it flows into Serre-Ponçon Lake. Its main tributary is the Ubayette River, which rise in the Lauzanier Lake. * Ubaye Valley has many lakes : ** Terre-Plaine lake ** Neuf-Couleur Lake ** Sagnes Lake ** Lauzanier lake ** Lake Allos ** Petite Cayolle lake ** Mans lakes ** Longet lake ** Oronaye lake, near Longet lake ** Marinet Lake

Peaks

Ubaye Valley's highest mountain is the Aiguille de Chambeyron (). The second one is the Brec de Chambeyron ().

Towns

* Its two largest towns are

and Jausiers. From Low Valley to High Valley, near Ubaye the towns are: Le Lauzet-Ubaye, Les Thuiles (Lauzet's hamlet), Méolans-Revel, Barcelonnette, Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, Jausiers, La Condamine-Châtelard, Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye and Tournoux. * There are several ski stations: Le Sauze,

Pra-Loup Pra-Loup is a ski resort in France, at Uvernet-Fours in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, from the town of Barcelonnette. Geography Ski area The ski station has two separate base areas, 2 km apart: * Pra-Loup 1600 - primary base area at above ...

(near Barcelonnette) and Sainte Anne (near La Condamine-Châtelard). * Two small towns in the Ubayette valley: Meyronnes and Larche.

Access

There are only six passable vehicle roads during the summer: *From the Haute-

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

(West) : "Pas-la-Tour" near Le Lauzet-Ubaye, open year-round *From the Verdon (South) : Col de la Cayolle and

Col d'Allos Col d'Allos (elevation ) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France. It connects Barcelonnette in the Ubaye Valley and Colmars. It lies parallel to the Col de la Cayolle and Col de la Bonette west o ...

(closed in winter) *From the

Tinée The Tinée (; ) is a river that flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France. It is long. Its drainage basin is .Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The road over t ...

at 2,750 meters, the highest road of Alps and the highest road in Europe (closed in winter) *From Stura Valley (Italy), (East): Pass of Col de Larche (closed in winter) *From the Queyras (North) :

Col de Vars The Col de Vars, elevation 2108 m (6916 ft) is a high mountain pass in the Alps between the departments of Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in France. It connects the Ubaye Valley with the Queyras valley and Embrun, Hautes-Alp ...

(closed in winter).

History

* The Ubaye valley has been populated since prehistoric times. * The Esubii, a

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

ish tribe, historically lived in the valley. * It was incorporated into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. A

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

crossed the valley and the Romans occupied the Faucon-de-Barcelonnette's area. * Christianized since the end of Roman Empire, Ubaye Valley belonged to the diocese of Embrun. * The valley was in the county of Provence during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. * Barcelonnette was founded in 1231 by Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. * François Ier crossed the pass of Larche to attack

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the 16th century. * Until the 1713

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

the valley was part of the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...

from its head to the confluence of the rivers Ubaye and Durance, and was the site of two Savoyard invasions of France in 1690 and 1692. * The French Army of the Alps was based in Ubaye during the French Revolution. * In the 1830s, the first real road to the valley was opened. * During the 19th century and the start of the 20th, many of Ubaye's people emigrated to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. * Ubaye Valley was occupied by Italians in 1942, then by Germans in 1943 and 1944

Administration

The valley is in the ''arrondissement'' of Barcelonnette, and has two '' cantons''.

Natural sites

* Lakes * Mountains: L'Aiguille du Chambeyron, the Séolanes, Siguret, "la Tête de Louis XVI". * The Mercantour National Park

Monuments

* Cardinalis Tower (Barcelonnette) * Museum of Ubaye Valley (Barcelonnette) * "Les Villas Mexicaines" (Barcelonnette and Jausiers) * Church of Faucon-de-Barcelonnette. * Church Saint Nicolas de Myre (Jausiers) * Magnans's Castle (Jausiers) * Abriès Mill (Jausiers) * Cuguret stronghold. (Jausiers) * Fort de Tournoux (La Condamine-Châtelard)

Notable residents

* Paul Reynaud, born in Barcelonnette * The Brothers Arnaud, born in Jausiers * Jacques-Antoine Manuel, born in Barcelonnette

Notes

External links

Website of Ubaye Valley
{{coord, 44.4, 6.7, display=title Landforms of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Valleys of France Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur