Vacqueyras (; ) 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

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Vacqueyras is also the name of an

Appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

for a wine from the Côtes du Rhône.

Geography

Access

Departmental Route 8 arrives at the north of the commune, then Departmental Route 7 traverses the commune on a north-south axis, forking to the southeast near

Beaumes-de-Venise Beaumes-de-Venise (; oc, Baumas de Venisa) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Name The word "beaumes" comes from the Provençal word ''bauma'' meaning "cave" or "grotto". T ...

. Departmental route 52 then continues on to the south. Departmental Route 233 leaves at the east near Peyre's Wood.

Neighbouring communes

Terrain

Containing many alternating little valleys of minimal depth and plains + hills to the east, (261 m to the Muse), the extremity is at the

Dentelles de Montmirail The Dentelles de Montmirail are a small chain of mountains in Provence in France, in the ''département'' of Vaucluse, located just to the south of the village of Vaison-la-Romaine. They are foothills of the highest peak in Provence, Mont Ven ...

Geology

The Dentelles de Montmirail are the furthest west of the Massif des Baronnies and constitute the first advance of 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 ...

into the Rhone Valley. Rocky stones from the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

( Tithonian) period with clay-limestone soil dominate the area.

Hydrography

The small stream Limade passes to the north of and flows into the

Ouvèze The Ouvèze (; oc, Ovesa) is a river in southern France and left tributary of the Rhône. It rises in the southern French Prealps (the Baronnies), in the commune of Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze. It flows into the Rhône in Sorgues, north of Avignon. It ...

, which passes to the west. The

Canal de Carpentras Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow ...

built in 1856, crosses the commune, and provides irrigation, thanks to a network of ''fillioles''(small irrigation channels).

Plants

Mediterranean plants on the Dentelles de Montmirail compare to those from the

Alpilles The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of low mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon. Geography The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range. Although it is not high - some 498 m (1,634 ...

in many places. One can find aromatic plants (

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

Evergreen Oaks Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

and Provençal White Pines (Aleppo Pines), etc. Vines grow well on the hillsides and also on the stony flat ground, at higher levels.

Population

References

Communes of Vaucluse {{Vaucluse-geo-stub