- Drôme
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"Drome" redirects here. For the 1952 novel by John Martin Leahy, see Drome (novel).For other uses, see Drôme (disambiguation).
Drôme — Department —
Coat of armsLocation of Drôme in France Coordinates: 44°45′N 05°10′E / 44.75°N 5.167°ECoordinates: 44°45′N 05°10′E / 44.75°N 5.167°E Country France Region Rhône-Alpes Prefecture Valence Subprefectures Die
NyonsGovernment - President of the General Council Didier Guillaume (PS) Area1 - Total 6,530 km2 (2,521.2 sq mi) Population (2007) - Total 473,427 - Rank 53rd - Density 72.5/km2 (187.8/sq mi) Time zone CET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Department number 26 Arrondissements 3 Cantons 36 Communes 369 ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 Drôme (Droma in Occitan, Drôma in Arpitan), a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.
Contents
History
The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. The territory formed part of the former French province of Dauphiné.
Geography
Drôme lies within the current[update] region of Rhône-Alpes (Rôno-Arpes) and is surrounded by the departments of Ardèche, Isère, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Vaucluse.
The boundaries of the department have changed several times with the incorporation of the Comtat Venaissin in 1792 and the creation of the department of Vaucluse in 1793. Drôme surrounds an enclave of the department of Vaucluse, the Canton of Valréas (Enclave des Papes).
Climate
Main article: Climate of the Drôme departmentEconomy
Main article: Economy of the Drôme departmentPolitics
The President of the General Council is Didier Guillaume of the Socialist Party.
Party seats • Socialist Party 18 Union for a Popular Movement 7 • Miscellaneous Left 4 Miscellaneous Right 3 MoDem 1 • The Greens 1 • Left Radical Party 1 • French Communist Party 1 Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Drômois.
Main cities
(1999 figures)
- Valence: 66,568
- Romans-sur-Isère: 33,665
- Montélimar: 32,896
- Nyons: 6,731
Tourism
Sport activities in Drôme include skiing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing in winter; during the summer period, excursions, mountain biking in the mountainous area.
See also
- Cantons of the Drôme department
- Communes of the Drôme department
- Arrondissements of the Drôme department
External links
- (English) Tourism website
- (English) Drôme Tourism Guide
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General Council website
- (French) Drome valley website
- (French) Drome Pictures
Categories:
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