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HAUTES ALPES
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HAUTES ALPES , a See also:department in S.E. See also:France, formed in 1790 out of the See also:south-eastern portion of the old See also:province of See also:Dauphine, together with a small See also:part of N. See also:Provence. It is bounded N. by the department of Savoie_, E. by See also:Italy and the department of the Basses Alpes, S. by the last-named department and that of the See also:Drome, and W. by the departments of the Drome and of the See also:Isere. Its See also:area is 2178 sq. m., its greatest length is 85 m. and its greatest breadth 62 m. It is very mountainous, and includes the Pointe See also:des Ecrins (13,462 ft.), the loftiest See also:summit in France before the See also:annexation of See also:Savoy in r86o, as well as the Meije (13,081 ft.), the Ailefroide (12,989 ft.) and the Mont Pelvoux (12,973 ft.), though See also:Monte Viso (=_2,609 ft.) is wholly in Italy, rising just over the border. The department is to a large extent made up of the basins of the upper See also:Durance (with its tributaries, the Guisane, the Gyronde and the Guil), of the upper Drac and of the Buech—all being to a very large extent See also:wild See also:mountain torrents in their upper course. The department is divided into three arrondissements (See also:Gap, See also:Briancon and See also:Embrun), 24 cantons and 186 communes. In 1906 its See also:population was 107,498. It is a very poor department owing to its See also:great See also:elevation above the See also:sea-level. There are no See also:industries of any extent, and its See also:commerce is almost wholly of See also:local importance. The prolonged See also:winter greatly hinders agricultural development, while the See also:pastoral region has been greatly damaged and the forests destroyed by the ravages of the Provencal See also:sheep, vast flocks of which are driven up here in the summer, as the pastures are leased out to a large extent, and but little utilized by the inhabitants. It now forms the See also:diocese of Gap (this see is first certainly mentioned in the 6th See also:century), which is in the ecclesiastical province of See also:Aix en Provence; in 1791 there was annexed to it the archiepiscopal see of Embrun, which was. then sup-pressed. There are 114 M. of railway in the department. This includes the See also:main See also:line from Briancon past Gap towards See also:Grenoble. About 162 m. W. of Gap is the important railway junction of Veynes, whence See also:branch off the lines to Grenoble, to See also:Valence by See also:Die and Livron, and to Sisteron for See also:Marseilles. The See also:chief See also:town is Gap, while Briancon and Embrun are the only other important places. See J. See also:Roman, Dictionnaire topographique du dep. des Htes-Alpes (See also:Paris, 1884), Tableau historique du dep. des Htes-Alpes (Paris, 1887-189o, 2 vols.), and Repertoire archeologique du dep. des Htes-Alpes (Paris, 1888) ; J. C. F. Ladoucette, Histoire, topographie, f&c., des Hautes-.4lpes (3rd ed., Paris, 1848), (W. A. B. C.) HAUTE-See also:SAONE, a department of eastern France, formed in 1790 from the See also:northern portion of Franche See also:Comte. It is traversed by the See also:river Saone, bounded N. by the department of the See also:Vosges, E. by the territory of See also:Belfort, S. by See also:Doubs and See also:Jura, and W. by Cute-d'Or and Haute-See also:Marne. Pop. (1906), 263,890; area, 2075 sq. m. On the See also:north-See also:east, where they are formed by the Vosges, and to the south along the course of the Ognon the limits are natural. The highest point of the department is the Ballon de Servance (3970 ft.), and the lowest the confluence of the Saone and Ognon (610 ft.). The See also:general slope is from north-east to south-See also:west, the direction followed by those two streams. In the north-east the department belongs to the Vosgian formation, consisting of See also:forest-clad mountains of See also:sandstone and See also:granite, and is of a marshy nature; but throughout the greater part of its extent it is composed of See also:limestone plateaus 800 to woo ft. high pierced with crevasses and subterranean caves, into which the See also:rain See also:water disappears to issue again as springs in the valleys 200 ft. See also:lower down. In its passage through the department the Saone receives from the right the Amance and the See also:Salon from the See also:Langres See also:plateau, and from the See also:left the Coney, the Lanterne (augmented by the Breuchin which passes by Luxeuil), the Durgeon (passing See also:Vesoul), and the Ognon. The north-eastern districts are See also:cold and have an See also:annual rainfall ranging from 36 to 48 in. Towards the south-west the See also:climate becomes more temperate. At Vesoul and See also: See also:Print-works, fulling mills, See also:hosiery factories and See also:straw-See also:hat factories are also of some See also:account; as well as See also:sugar works, distilleries, dye-works, saw-mills, See also:starch-works, the chemical works at Gouhenans, oil-mills, tanyards and See also:flour-mills. The department exports wheat, cattle, See also:cheese, See also:butter, iron, See also:wood, pottery, kirschwasser, See also:plaster, See also:leather, glass, &c. The Saone provides a navigable channel of about 70 m,, which is connected with the Moselle and the See also:Meuse at Corre by the See also:Canal de i'Est along the valley of the Coney. Gray is the chief See also:emporium of the water-See also:borne See also:trade of the Saone. Haute-Saoneis served chiefly by the Eastern railway. There are three arrondissements—Vesoul, Gray, Lure—comprising 28 cantons, 583 communes. Haute-Saone is in the See also:district of the VII. See also:army See also:corps, and in its legal, ecclesiastical and educational relations depends on See also:Besancon.
Vesoul, the See also:capital of the department, Gray and Luxeuil are the See also:principal towns. There is an important school of See also:agriculture at St Remy in the arrondissement of Vesoul. The Roman ruins and mosaics at Membrey in the arrondissement of Gray and the See also: It is mainly made up of the river-basins of the Arve (flowing along the northern See also:foot of the Mont See also:Blanc range, and receiving the Giffre, on the right, and the Borne and Foron, on the left—the Arve joins the See also:Rhone, See also:close to Geneva), of the Dranse (with several branches, all flowing into the Lake of Geneva), of the Usses and of the Fier (both flowing See also:direct into the Rhone, the latter after forming the Lake of See also:Annecy). The upper course of the Arly is also in the department, but the river then leaves it to fall into the Isere. The whple of the department is mountainous. But the hills attain no very great height, See also:save at its south-east end, where rises the sncwclad See also:chain of Mont Blanc, with many high peaks (culminating in Mont Blanc, 15,782 ft.) and many glaciers. That portion of the department is alone frequented by travellers, whose centre is See also:Chamonix in the upper Arve valley. The lowest point (945 ft.) in the department is at the junction of the Fier with the Rhone. The whole of the department is included in that portion of the duchy of Savoy which was neutralized in 1815. In 1906 the population of the department was 260,617. Its area is 1775 sq. m., and it is divided into four arrondissements (Annecy, the chief town, See also:Bonneville, St See also:Julien and Thonon), 28 cantons and 314 communes. It forms the diocese of Annecy. There are in the department 176 m. of broad-See also:gauge See also:railways, and 70 M. of narrow-gauge lines. There are also a number of mineral springs, only three of which are known to foreigners—the chalybeate waters of Evian and See also:Amphion, close to each other on the south See also:shore of the Lake of Geneva, and the chalybeate and sulphurous waters of St See also:Gervais, at the north-west end of the chain of Mont Blanc. See also:Anthracite and asphalte mines are numerous, as well as stone quarries. Cotton is manufactured at Annecy, while Cluses is the centre of the See also:clock-making See also:industry. There is a well-known See also:bell foundry at Annecy le Vieux. Thonon (the old capital of the Chablais) is the most important town on the See also:southern shore of the Lake of Geneva and, after Annecy, the most populous See also:place in the department. (W. A. B. C.) HAUTES-See also:PYRENEES, a department of south-western France, on the See also:Spanish frontier, formed in 1790, half of it being taken from Bigorre and the See also:remainder from See also:Armagnac, Nebouzan, Astarac and Quatre Vallees, districts which all belonged to the province of See also:Gascony. Pop. (1906), 209397. Area, 1750 sq. m. Hautes-Pyrenees is bounded S. by See also:Spain, W. by the department of Basses-Pyrenees (which encloses on its eastern border five communes belonging to Hautes-Pyrenees), N. by See also:Gera and E. by Haute-See also:Garonne. Except on the south its boundaries are conventional. The south of the department, comprising two-thirds of its area, is occupied by the central Pyrenees. Some of the peaks reach or exceed the height of 10,000 ft., the Vignemale (10,820 ft.) being the highest in the See also:French Pyrenees. The imposing cirques (Cirques de Troumouse, Gavarnie and Estaube), with their glaciers and waterfalls, and the pleasant valleys attract a large number of tourists, the most noted point being the See also:Cirque de Gavarnie. The northern portion of the department is a region of plains and undulating hills clothed with See also:corn-See also:fields, vineyards and meadows. To the north-east, however, the cold and See also:wind-swept plateau of Lannemezan (about moo ft.), the See also:watershed of the streams that come down on the French See also:side of the Pyrenees, presents in its bleakness and barrenness a striking contrast to the See also:plain that lies below. The department is drained by three principal streams, the Gave de See also:Pau, the See also:Adour and the Neste, an affluent of the Garonne. The See also:sources of the first and third See also:lie close together in the Cirque of Gavarnie and on the slopes of Troumouse, whence they flow respectively to the north-west and north-east. An important See also:section of the Pyrenees, which carries the See also:Massif Neouvielle and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (with its meteorological See also:observatory), runs northward between these two valleys. From the Pic du Midi descends the Adour, which, after watering the pleasant valley of See also:Campan, leaves the mountains at Bagneres and then divides into a multitude of channels, to irrigate the See also:rich plain of See also:Tarbes. The chief of these is the Canal d'See also:Alaric with a length of 36 m. Beyond Hautes-Pyrenees it receives on the right the Arros, which flows through the department from south to north-north-west; on the left it receives the Gave de Pau. This latter stream, rising in Gavarnie, is joined at Luz by the Gave de Bastan from Neouvielle, and at Pierrefitte by the Gave de See also:Cauterets, fed by streams from the Vignemale. The Gave de Pau, after passing Argeles, a well-known centre for excursions, and See also:Lourdes, leaves the mountains and turns sharply from north to west; it has a greater See also:volume of water than the Adour, but, being more of a mountain torrent, is regarded as a tributary of the Adour, which is navigable in the latter part of its course. The Neste d'Aure, descending from the peaks of Neouvielle and Troumouse, receives at Arreau the Neste de Louron from the pass of Clarabide and flows northwards through a beautiful valley as far as La Barthe, where it turns east; it is important as furnishing the plateau of Lannemezan with a canal, the Canal de la Neste, the waters of which are partly used for See also:irrigation and partly for supplying the streams that rise there and are dried up in summer—the See also:Gers and the Baise, affluents of the Garonne. This latter only touches the department. The climate of Hautes-Pyrenees, though very cold on the See also:highlands, is warm and moist in the plains, where there are hot summers, See also:fine autumns, mild winters and See also:rainy springs. On the plateau of Lannemezan, while the summers are dry and scorching, the winters are very severe. The See also:average annual rainfall at Tarbes, in the north of the department, is about 34 in.; at the higher altitudes it is much greater. The mean annual temperature at Tarbes is J90 Fahr. Hautes-Pyrenees is agricultural in the plains, pastoral in the highlands. The more important cereals are wheat and See also:maize, which is much used for the feeding of pigs and poultry, especially geese; rye, oats and See also:barley are grown in the mountain districts. The wines of Madiran and Peyriguere are well known and See also:tobacco is also cultivated; See also:chestnut trees and See also:fruit trees are grown on the lower slopes. In the neighbourhood of Tarbes and Bagneres-de-Bigorre See also:horse-breeding is the principal occupation and there is a famous See also:stud at Tarbes. The horse of the region is the result of a See also:fusion of Arab, See also:English and Navarrese See also:blood and is well fitted for See also:saddle and See also:harness; it is largely used by See also:light See also:cavalry' regiments. Cattle raising is important; the milchcows of Lourdes and the oxen of Tarbes and the valley of the Aure are highly esteemed. Sheep and goats are also reared. The forests, which occur chiefly in the highlands, contain bears, boars, wolves and other wild animals. There are at Campan and Sarrancolin quarries of fine See also:marble, which is sawn and worked at Bagneres. There is a See also:group of See also:slate quarries at Labassere. Deposits of See also:lignite, See also:lead, See also:manganese and See also:zinc are found. The mineral springs of Hautes-Pyrenees are numerous and much visited. The principal in the valley of the Gave de Pau are Cauterets (hot springs containing See also:sulphur and See also:sodium), St Sauveur (springs with sulphur and sodium), and Bareges (hot springs with sulphur and sodium), and in the valley of the Adour Bagneres (hot or cold springs containing See also:calcium sulphates, iron, sulphur and sodium) and Capvern near Lannemezan (springs containing calcium sulphates). The department has flour-mills and saw-mills, a large militaryarsenal at Tarbes, paper-mills, tanneries and manufactories of agricultural implements and looms. The spinning and weaving of See also:wool and the manufacture of knitted goods are carried on; Bagneres-de-Bigorre is the chief centre of the textile industry. Of the passes (ports) into Spain, even the chief, Gavarnie (7398 ft.), is not accessible to carriages. The department is served by the Southern railway and is traversed from west to east by the main line from See also:Bayonne to See also:Toulouse. There are three arrondissements, those of Tarbes, Argeles and Bagneresde-Bigorre, 26 cantons and 480 communes. Tarbes is the capital of Hautes-Pyrenees, which constitutes the diocese of Tarbes, and is attached to the See also:appeal See also:court of Pau; it forms part of the region of the XVIII. army corps. In educational matters it falls within the circumscription of the See also:academic of Toulouse. Tarbes, Lourdes, Bagneres-de-Bigorre and Luz-St Sauveur are the principal towns. St Savin, in the valley of the Gave de Pau, and Sarrancolin have interesting Romanesque churches. The church of Maubourguet built by the Temnlars in the 12th century is also remarkable. HAUTE-See also:VIENNE, a department of central France, formed in 1790 of Haut-See also:Limousin and of portions of See also:Marche, See also:Poitou and See also:Berry. Pop. (1906), 385,732. Area, 2144 sq. m. It is bounded N. by See also:Indre, E. by See also:Creuse, S.E. by See also:Correze, S.W. by See also:Dordogne, W. by See also:Charente and N.W. by Vienne. Haute-Vienne belongs to the central plateau of France, and drains partly to the See also:Loire and partly to the Garonne. The highest See also:altitude (2549 ft.) is in the extreme south-east, and belongs to the treeless but well-watered plateau of Millevaches, formed of granite, See also:gneiss and See also:mica. From that point the department slopes towards the west, south-west and north. To the north-west of the Millevaches are the Ambazac and Blond Hills, both separating the valley of the Vienne from that of the Gartempe, a tributary of the Creuse. The Vienne traverses the department from east to west, passing Eymoutiers, St Leonard, See also:Limoges and St Junien, and receiving on the right the See also:Maude and the Taurion. The Isle, which flows into the Dordogne, with its tributaries the Auvezere and the Dronne, and the Tardoire and the Bandiat, tributaries of the Charente, all rise in the south of the department. The altitude and inland position of Haute-Vienne, its See also:geological See also:character, and the northern exposure of its valleys make the winters See also:long and severe; but the climate is milder in the west and north-west. The annual rainfall often reaches 36 or 37 in. and even more in the mountains. Haute-Vienne is on the whole unproductive. Rye, wheat, See also:buckwheat and oats are the cereals most grown, but the chestnut, which is a characteristic product of the department, still forms the See also:staple See also:food of large See also:numbers of the population. Potatoes, mangolds, See also:hemp and colza are cultivated. After the chestnut, walnuts and See also:cider-apples are the principal fruits. Good breeds of horned cattle and sheep are reared and find a ready See also:market in Paris. Horses for remount purposes are also raised. The quarries furnish granite and large quantities of See also:kaolin, which is both exported and used in the See also:porcelain works of the department. See also:Amianthus, emeralds and garnets are found. Limoges is the centre of the porcelain industry and has important liqueur distilleries. Woollen goods, starch, paper and pasteboard, wooden and leather shoes, gloves, agricultural implements and hats are other See also:industrial products, and there are flour-mills, breweries, dye-works, tanneries, iron foundries and See also:printing works. See also:Wine and See also:alcohol for the liqueur-manufacture, coal, raw materials for textile industries, hops, skins and various manufactured articles are among the imports.
The department is served almost entirely by the See also: The remains of the See also:chateau of Chalusset (S.S.E. of Limoges), the most remark-able feudal ruins in Limousin, and the chateau of Rochechouart, which See also:dates from the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries, are also of interest. HAUT-RHIN, before 1871 a department of eastern France, formed in 1700 from the southern portion of See also:Alsace. The name " Haut-Rhin " is sometimes used of the territory of Belfort (q.v.). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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