Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, of which it is a subprefecture.

Location

Istres is adjacent to the '' Étang de Berre'' lagoon (the largest in Europe) and the ''Étang de l'Olivier'' lagoon. It is located some 60 km (38 mi) north-west of Marseille, 20 km (13 mi) south-west of

Salon-de-Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d' ...

, 10 km (6 mi) north of Martigues and 45 km (28 mi) south-east of Arles. Istres is also adjacent to the ''plaine de la Crau'' and the Camargue

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Sports

The city has numerous sports facilities and exactly 102 clubs. Each year, a race is organized around the Étang de l'Olivier. Many runners participate. The town's main football club is FC Istres.

Facilities

Istres is the home of the Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (BA 125). This air base was one of three utilized by NASA as a contingency landing site for the Space Shuttle in the case of a Transoceanic Abort Landing . Istres shared this responsibility with Zaragoza, Spain and Moron, Spain.

Climate

Istres has a Mediterranean climate characterised by mild, humid winters and hot, dry summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 7 °C. July and August are the hottest months. The mean summer temperature is around 24 °C (75 °F) with an average maximum temperature around 32 °C. The amount of precipitation is around 566 mm (22 inches) per year. The

mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Micropl ...

, a cold and often violent wind, blows through the city mostly in winter and spring.

Population

References

External links

Official website
Communes of Bouches-du-Rhône Subprefectures in France Bouches-du-Rhône communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{BouchesRhône-geo-stub