Bouches-du-Rhône

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Translation arrow.svg
 Please expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French Wikipedia. (December 2008)
After translating, {{Translated|fr|Bouches-du-Rhône}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance.
Translation instructions · Translate via Google

Coordinates: 43°30′N 5°5′E / 43.5°N 5.083°E / 43.5; 5.083

Bouches-du-Rhône
Coat of Arms of Bouches-du-Rhône
Location
Location of Bouches-du-Rhône in France
Administration
Department number: 13
Region: Provence-Alpes-
Côte d'Azur
Prefecture: Marseille
Subprefectures: Aix-en-Provence
Arles
Istres
Arrondissements: 4
Cantons: 57
Communes: 119
President of the General Council: Jean-Noël Guérini
PS
Statistics
Population Ranked 3rd
 -Jan 1, 2006 estimate
 -March 8, 1999 census		 1,937,405
1,835,719
Population density: 377/km2
Land area¹: 5,087 km2
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2.
Istres, fourth largest town of Bouches-du-Rhône (40,000 inhabitants)
Guardian house in Camargue
Castle of Tarascon
Arles Amphitheatre

Bouches-du-Rhône (Occitan: Bocas de Ròse, lit. "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] History of the department

Bouches-du-Rhône is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Provence and the principalities of Orange, Martigues, and Lambesc. It lost part of its territory in 1793, including Orange and Apt, when the Vaucluse department was created.

[edit] History of the area

The history of the area is closely linked to that of Provence. Marseille has been an important harbor since before Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. The Roman presence has left numerous monuments across the department.

[edit] Geography

The department is part of the current region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is surrounded by the departments of Gard on the west, Vaucluse on the north, and Var on the east, and by the Mediterranean Sea on the south.

Marseille contains an important harbor.

Other cities include:

Rivers include:

  • Rhône, which forms the border with the Gard department
  • Rhône delta (the Camargue), in the southwestern part of the department
  • Durance
  • Arc
  • Huveaune

Lakes include:

Mountains include:

[edit] Politics

The President of the General Council is Jean-Noël Guérini of the Socialist Party. Although the department leans to the right in national elections, it remains a stronghold of the left at the local level due to the very strong PS machine in the department led today by Guérini and in the past by Gaston Defferre.

Party seats
• Socialist Party 33
Union for a Popular Movement 13
• French Communist Party 6
Miscellaneous Right 5

[edit] Culture

The department is well represented in French art. Paul Cézanne painted numerous representations of the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Vincent van Gogh spent much of his life in Arles, painting many scenes in the area.

[edit] Tourism

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhone at the Open Directory Project

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouches-du-Rh%C3%B4ne"