Matheysine is a French

Natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

located in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

at the south of the Isère

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

. Its relief is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

surrounded by mountains. Matheysine is also called Plateau Matheysin.

Geography

The Plateau Matheysin is located in the Isère

, 30 km south of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

when heading to Gap. Included in the overall Taillefer massif, its average elevation is 1,000 m. Belonging to south-

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

, it is crossed over by the 45th parallel north and roughly matches the boundaries of the former canton of La Mure. It is around 20 km long from north to south and around 13 km wide from east to west. At the south and at the west, the border of the plateau is marked by the river Drac, which defines the boundary with Trièves (at the south) and with the

Vercors Plateau The Vercors Massif is a range in France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the '' départements'' of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Dr ...

(at the west). At the north, the plateau ends at the

Laffrey Laffrey () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It stands at the top of the Rampe de Laffrey, which is known for a large number of deadly automobile accidents. History Napoleon passed through the village on March 7, 1 ...

slope down to the

Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .Grand Serre (elev. 2,141m.) and

Tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

(elev. 2,389m.) marks the boundary with the Valbonnais canton. Beside these mountains, the plateau is crossed over from north to south by the summits of the Connest Mountain (

Peyrouse Peyrouse (; oc, Peirosa) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to h ...

, Connex) and of the Sénépy. These mountains overlook a succession of four lakes of

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

origin called the Laffrey lakes. From north to south, these lakes are composed of the lac Mort, the Grand lac de Laffrey, the Petichet lake, the Pierre-Châtel lake. Close to the Pierre-Châtel lake can be found one of the so-called Seven Wonders of Dauphiné, a natural arch called the Pierre Percée.

La Mure La Mure () is a commune in the Isère département in southeastern France. It is located south of Grenoble on the plateau Matheysin. Population Sights * The Chemin de fer de la Mure is a small touristic train using a railway initially bu ...

is Matheysine's main city.

Climate

On this plateau, shaped by

s during the previous

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

s and surrounded by high mountain ranges, the bise wind blows intensely, being frosty during Winter, but pleasant in Summer. Furthermore, at Winter time, the area can face heavy snowfalls. For these reasons, Matheysine is being nicknamed Little Siberia.

History

Etymology

The area has been called Mathaysana (11th century) and later Mataisine (13th century) and Mattacena (14th century), which could possibly be derived from ''Matta'' ("to be wet") and ''Cena'' ("plateau"). This depicts actually rather well both the geography and the climatic characteristics of the place. The inhabitants of Matheysine are called Matheysins.

Napoléon I in Matheysine

The alpine road used by emperor

Napoléon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, after having landed at Juan-les-Pins on his return from

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

, crosses Matheysine. There, in a prairie located along the shore of Grand lac de Laffrey, at the place now called Prairie de la Rencontre (Meeting Prairie), the emperor and his troops (1,100 men led by 3 generals) met the royal army sent in order to stop them. Napoléon succeeded in rallying his opponents to his cause and could finally proceed to

. An equestrian statue of Napoléon still reminds this event.

Coal mining

The history of Matheysine has been strongly impacted by

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

mining. This coal, of superior quality ( anthracite) but in thin veins, was extracted from the beginning of the 19th century until the late 1990s. It has highly contributed to the reputation of the plateau.

Economic characteristics

Matheysine has been going through an economic reconversion since the planned decline and the cessation of the coal mining activity on the plateau. New industries installations have been favoured through aids and fiscal easy terms.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, as well as local craft industry, also help at renewing Matheysine's economic health. Furthermore, the area presently experiences the arrival of urban people from the

built-up area, looking for more affordable real estate costs whilst keeping on working downtown. This phenomenon is partly contributing to a revival of the local trade.

References

External links

Matheysine

{{Coord, 44, 58, N, 5, 47, E, region:FR, display=title Geography of Isère