Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolution on 4 March 1790. It consists of the southeast of theformer province ofDauphiné and the north ofProvence. At the time when the department was created, the two mountain communes ofLa Grave andVillar-d'Arêne successfully campaigned to be included in Hautes-Alpes and not in the neighbouring department ofIsère to which they had originally been assigned. This was because they hoped to benefit from the relative autonomy and certain fiscal privileges enjoyed by the region since the 14th century under the terms of theStatute of the Briançon Escartons.
Napoleon passed through Gap when he returned to reclaim France after his exile onElba using what is now known asRoute Napoléon. After Napoleon's defeat at theBattle of Waterloo, the department was occupied by Austrian and Piedmontese troops from 1815 to 1818.
During World War II, Italy occupied Hautes-Alpes from November 1942 to September 1943.
Hautes-Alpes is located in theAlps mountain range. The average elevation is over 1000 m; the highest elevation is over 4000 m. The only three sizable cities areGap,Briançon andEmbrun, which was a subprefecture until 1926.[4]
The following rivers flow through the department:Durance,Guisane,Buëch,Drac andClarée. TheDurance has been dammed to create one of the largest artificial lakes in Western Europe: theLac de Serre-Ponçon. TheQueyras valley is located in the eastern part of the department and is noted by many as being an area of outstanding beauty.
The most populous commune is the prefectureGap. As of 2019, there are 2 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants, and 6 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:[3]
The inhabitants of the department are calledHaut-Alpins (masculine) andHaut-Alpines (feminine) in French.
The extremely mountainous terrain explains the sparse population, which was about 120,000 in 1791. It changed little during the 19th century, but fell to about 85,000 after World War I. Thanks in large part to tourism, the population has risen from 87,436 in 1962 to 141,107 in 2016, principally in the town of Gap.
The tourist industry is largely dependent on skiing in winter. In summer the Alpine scenery and many outdoor activities attract visitors from across Europe (sailing, hiking,climbing and aerial sports such asgliding). TheTour de France passes through the department regularly. This draws many cycling fanatics to cycle the cols and watch the race.
