Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire (; oc, Sant Miquèu de l'Observatòri) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...

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, ...

in southeastern France. It was the death place of 18th-century botanist

Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène Father Jean-Paul de Rome d'Ardène (25 January 1690 – 5 December 1769) in ''domaine d'Ardène'' in Saint-Michel (modern Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) was an 18th-century French botanist. Origins Jean-Paul de Rome d'A ...

and

Taos Amrouche Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche (born 4 March 1913 in Tunis, Tunisia; died 2 April 1976 in Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, France) was an Algerian writer and singer. In 1947, she became the first Algerian woman to publish a novel. Biography She was ...

, the French-speaking Algerian writer, singer of Kabyle music, and activist for women's causes.

Population

Observatory

Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire is the "host town" of the

Haute-Provence Observatory The Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP, french: Observatoire de Haute-Provence) is an astronomical observatory in the southeast of France, about 90 km east of Avignon and 100 km north of Marseille. It was established in 1937 as a national ...

, a nationally ranked facility. It is considered, by many astronomers, to be the best European low-altitude (400 meters) observatory in operation. There is also an astronomy center for educational purposes. It hosts students of elementary schools for brief stays (1–2 weeks) during the year and organizes theme nights of combined sky observations and expositions/debates on different themes. St. Michael was chosen as the location of the Haute-Provence Observatory site, about 600 meters north. The village is located 543m altitude. The rock Guerin rises to 767 meters in the municipality. The neighboring towns of Saint-Michel-Observatoire are Revest des Brousses, Mane, Dauphin,

Saint-Martin-les-Eaux Saint-Martin-les-Eaux (; Provençal: ''Sant Martin deis Aigas'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Population See also * Luberon *Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department The followi ...

Villemus Villemus is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department * Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is ...

, Reillane and

Aubenas-les-Alpes Aubenas-les-Alpes is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albascecois'' or ''Albascecoises''. The commune has been aw ...

The territory of the Regional Natural Park of Luberon

The village is located in the Regional Natural Park of

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from wes ...

. The town is one of the seventy-seven Member States of the Regional Natural Park of the Luberon Park, which extends from

Cavaillon Cavaillon (; Provençal: ''Cavalhon'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.

in the west to the east

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Lincel and several hamlets including the Craux, and quite a few differences.

International relations

The commune is twinned with: *

Monte Porzio Catone Monte Porzio Catone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. Monte Porzio Catone borders the following municipalities: Frascati, Gro ...

, Italy

References

Communes of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{AlpesHauteProvence-geo-stub