|
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche
Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche (; ) is a commune in the department of Ardèche in Southern France. Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is situated at the Southern entrance of the Ardèche Canyon, the ''Gorges de l'Ardèche''. Administration Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche is member of the intercommunality of Rhône aux Gorges de l'Ardèche together with nearby Ardèche communes of Bidon, Bourg-Saint-Andéol, Gras, Larnas, Saint-Montan, Saint-Just, Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche, Saint-Remèze and Viviers at the very south-eastern end of department. Population Geography A few kilometres from the main trail of the Rhône Valley between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean coast, a Gateway to Provence, Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche lies underneath the silhouette of medieval Aiguèze at the outlet of the Ardèche Gorges carved through the limestone ''plateau de Gras'' (average 300 m high, culminating at the 719 m high ''Dent de Rez'', i.e. ''saw tooth'') (reïsse=saw in provençal). About between Vallon-Pont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardèche (river)
The Ardèche (; ) is a long river in south-central France, a right-bank tributary of the River Rhône. Its source is in the Massif Central, near the village of Astet. It flows into the Rhône near Pont-Saint-Esprit, north-west of Orange, France, Orange. The river gives its name to the French Departments of France, department of Ardèche. The valley of the Ardèche is very scenic, in particular a section known as the Ardèche Gorges. The walls of the river here are limestone cliffs up to high. A kayak and camping trip down the Canyon, gorge is not technically difficult and is very popular in the summer. The most famous feature is a natural stone arch spanning the river known as the Pont d'Arc (arch bridge). Geography The source of the river lies at above sea level in the Vivarais, near the Col de la Chavade, in the forest of Mazan in the commune of Astet. After the towns of Aubenas and Ruoms, it collects the Chassezac and the Beaume and plunges into its famous gorge below Va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bourg-Saint-Andéol
Bourg-Saint-Andéol (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône Valley in southern France. Geography It lies directly along the river Rhône at the southeast end of the department south of the smaller town Viviers, from Pierrelatte eastwards across the river in the ''département'' Drôme and from Pont-Saint-Esprit, in the north of the ''département'' of Gard. to the south-west starts the nearby Ardèche Gorges in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche. History The Gallic settlement on a rocky peak over the Rhône was called ''Bergoiata''. Near the town is a sculpted bas relief of the god Mithras. It acquired its present name after Saint Andeolus, the 'apostle of the Vivarais', a disciple of St. Polycarp, supposedly arriving from Asia Minor, who evangelized the area under Emperor Septimius Severus, and was martyred in 208. The region was named ''Helvia'' in Julius Caesar's ''De Bello Gallico'', with Alba-la-Romaine as capital city, then Vivarais from the mediaeva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (; ) is a village in southern France in the Ardèche Department. The village is a gateway to one of the most beautiful tourist sites in France, the Ardèche Gorges, where the Ardèche river has carved a dramatic canyon through a limestone plateau. The village is named after the Pont d'Arc, a natural rock arch, which has been classified as a Great Site of France. Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is also the location of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the decorated cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc., and its replica, Chauvet Cave 2. The cave contains some of the earliest known prehistoric paintings in the world and constitutes an exceptional testimony of prehistoric cave art. In the center of the town is a château built in the 17th century, now the town hall, which is decorated with Aubusson tapestries, as well as the place couverte or old grain square, and the place du Verger. Sights * The Pont d'Arc * The Chauvet Cave is not open to the public. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcoule
Marcoule Nuclear Site () is a nuclear facility in the Chusclan and Codolet communes, near Bagnols-sur-Cèze in the Gard department of France, which is in the tourist, wine and agricultural Côtes-du-Rhône region. The plant is around 25 km north west of Avignon, on the banks of the Rhone. Operational since 1956, Marcoule is a gigantic site run by the atomic energy organization Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA) and Areva NC and is known as CEA VALRHO Marcoule. The first industrial and military plutonium experiments took place in Marcoule. Diversification of the site was started in the 1970s with the creation of the Phénix prototype fast breeder reactor, which was operational until 2009, and is nowadays an important site for decommissioning nuclear facilities activities. the Phénix reactor was planned to be succeeded by the sodium-cooled fast reactor ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technical Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), foreseen to become operational in the 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garrigue
Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast where the moderated Mediterranean climate provides annual summer drought. It is an anthropogenic degradation and succession form of former evergreen oak forests that existed until around 2500 years BCE. The term has also found its way into haute cuisine, suggestive of the resinous flavours of a garrigue shrubland. Habitat and vegetation UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre described garrigue as "discontinuous bushy associations of the Mediterranean calcareous plateaus, which have relatively alkaline soils. It is often composed of kermes oak, lavender, thyme, and white cistus. There may be a few isolated trees." Garrigue is discontinuous with widely spaced bush associations wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mont Ventoux
Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Beast of Provence", the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald Mountain". It has gained fame through its inclusion in the Tour de France cycling race; in 2009 it was the scene of the first penultimate-day mountain top finish in the Tour de France, with Alberto Contador sealing his yellow jersey. As the name suggests (''venteux'' means windy in French), it can get windy at the summit, especially with the '' mistral''; wind speeds as high as have been recorded. The wind blows at over for 240 days a year. The road over the mountain is often closed due to high winds, especially the ''col des tempêtes'' ("storm pass") just before the summit, which is known for its strong winds. In the 10th century, the names ''Mons Vento ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uzès
Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon, and southeast of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia'' or ''Eutica'' in Latin, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman ''oppidum,'' or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Alzon river, at Fontaine d'Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first century AD, to supply water to the city of Nîmes, away. The most famous stretch of the aqueduct is the Pont du Gard, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which carried fresh water over splendid arches across the Gardon river. Jews were apparently settled there as early as the 5th century. Saint Ferréol, Bishop of Uzès, was said to have admitted them to his table. Complaints were made of him to King Childebert I for this issue, whereupon the bishop was required to turn against them, expelling those Jews from Uzès who would not convert to Christianity. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Departments Of France
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions and the Communes of France, communes. There are a total of 101 departments, consisting of ninety-six departments in metropolitan France, and five Overseas department and region, overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 333 Arrondissements of France, arrondissements and 2,054 Cantons of France, cantons (as of 2023). These last two levels of government have no political autonomy, instead serving as the administrative basis for the local organisation of police, fire departments, and, in certain cases, elections. Each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council (France), departmental council ( , ). From 1800 to April 2015, these were called gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cévennes
The Cévennes ( , ; ) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the '' départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geographical, natural, and cultural significance, portions of the region are protected within the Cévennes National Park, the Cévennes Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO), as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape. The area has been inhabited since 400,000 BCE and has numerous megaliths which were erected beginning around 2500 BCE. As an agriculturally-rich area, but not a suitable location for cities, the Cévennes developed a wide diversity of pastoral systems, including transhumance. The irrigation and road networks put in place in the early Middle Ages for these pastoral systems are still in use today. The name ''Cévennes'' comes from the Gaulish ''Cebenna''. As of 1999, there we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communes Of France
A () is a level of administrative divisions of France, administrative division in the France, French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipality, municipalities in Canada and the United States; ' in Germany; ' in Italy; ' in Spain; or civil parishes in the United Kingdom. are based on historical geographic communities or villages and are vested with significant powers to manage the populations and land of the geographic area covered. The are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlet (place), hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are ( or ), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers. Except for the Municipal arrondissem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagnols-sur-Cèze
Bagnols-sur-Cèze (, "Bagnols-on-Cèze"; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. History A small regional centre, Bagnols-sur-Cèze was quite certainly a Roman town (the name of the town comes from the Latin meaning "related to baths, bathing-place") before the main part was built in the 13th century around a central arcaded square that is still preserved today. At the same period, the regional market was installed here, undoubtedly contributing to its expansion. Demographics Bagnols-sur-Ceze expanded steadily after the Marcoule Nuclear Site, Marcoule nuclear centre was established in 1956. Sights The old center of Bagnols-sur-Cèze retains its historic feel, with small streets and largely preserved architecture. Several façades are remarkable. The towns contains a notable museum of contemporary art, the Musée Albert-André, founded in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierrelatte
Pierrelatte (; ) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Since the 1980s it hosts one of the biggest production plants of the enriched uranium existing in the world, used both for civil and military purposes. Population Personalities * Jean Aurenche, screenwriter (1903-1992) * Agnès Callamard, human rights activist and the current Secretary General of Amnesty International (born 1963) * Jérôme Bernard, racing cyclist (born 1971) * Cédric Séguin, fencer (born 1973) * Anthony Cellier, French politician (born 1975) * David Guerrier, classical trumpeter (born 1984) Climate See also *Communes of the Drôme department *Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant The Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant consisting of 4 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of CP1 type with 915 MW electrical power output each. The power plant is located in the south of France (Drôme and Vaucluse Depa ... * Georges-Besse plant References Commune ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
