Vallorcine () is a commune in the

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Vallorcine is located in the Valley of the L'Eau Noire between the Col des Montets and the Swiss border. It is the terminus of the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway on the route between Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in France and Martigny in Switzerland; it is served by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

where passengers must change between French and Swiss trains. In the Swiss direction, the line continues to Le Châtelard where it joins the Martigny–Châtelard Railway which is partially rack-operated. There is a small museum at Barberine next to the Swiss border and there is a tourist information office and a post office near the railway station. La croix de Loriaz.jpg, The Cross of Loriaz on the heights of Vallorcine View into the Vallorcine Valley (12834416603).jpg, View of Vallorcine in the valley Le Buet Triebzug01 2000-03-17.jpg, A SNCF Class Z 800 trainset at Le Buet station Z-800-quai-vallorcine.jpg, Z 800 at Vallorcine station

Le Buet

Within the commune is the small settlement of Le Buet, which also has its own railway station; it is the location of the spectacular Cascade de Bérard, which has a viewing gallery that enters the gorge of the main waterfall. Further up this valley is the

Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve The Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located in the Aiguilles Rouges mountain range in the Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France. Localisation In the Haute-Savoie department, on the northern side of the ...

and the Nature Reserve of Vallon de Bérard.

Skiing

The community was transformed in 2004 with the construction of a high-speed gondola lift which allowed access to the established Domaine de Balme and La Tour ski areas. This gave rise to the construction of a selection of restaurants and ski accommodation.

Émosson Dam

Although the Émosson Dam for

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power generation is physically just over the Swiss border, water from the reservoir crosses the border to first power the 189 MW Vallorcine Power Station just over the border in Vallorcine. Water is then sent through a headrace tunnel to the 162 MW La Bâtiaz Power Station, to the east in

Martigny Martigny (; , ; ) is the capital city of the district of Martigny (district), Martigny, cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Valais, Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 20,000 inhabitants ( ...

Geography

Le Buet

Skiing

Émosson Dam

Climate

Demography

See also

References