Isère
Encyclopedia : I : IS : ISR : Isère
| Isère | |
|---|---|
|
Details | |
| Information | |
| Number | 38 |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Grenoble |
| Subprefectures | La Tour-du-Pin Vienne |
| -1999 -Population density>Density | Ranked 16th 1,094,006 147/km² |
| Area | 7431 km² |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 58 |
| Communes | 533 |
| President of the General Council | André Vallini |
| Location | |
| |
Isère is a département in the east of France named after the Isère River.
History
Isère is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné. Its area has been reduced twice, in 1852 and again in 1967.
Geography
Isère is part of the current region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the départements of Rhône, Ain, Savoie, Hautes-Alpes, Drôme, Ardèche, and Loire.
Isère includes a part of the French Alps. The highest point in the département is the summit of La Meije at 3,987 meters. The Vercors Plateau dominates the west of the département.
Demographics
Inhabitants of the département are called Isérois.
Culture
The Grande Chartreuse is the mother abbey of the Carthusian order. It is located 14 miles north of Grenoble.
As early as the 13th century, residents of the north and central parts of Isère spoke a dialect of the Franco-Provençal language called Dauphinois. It continued to be spoken in rural areas of Isère into the 20th century.
Tourism
Isère features many ski resorts, including the Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes. It also hosts Coupe Icare, an annual festival of free flight, such as paragliding and hang-gliding, held at the world-renowned paragliding site at Lumbin.
Miscellaneous Topics
Isère produces the following cheeses: Bleu du Vercours-Sassenage, an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheese, and Saint-Marcellin.
See also
- Grenoble - Capital
- Cantons of the Isère département
- Communes of the Isère département
- Arrondissements of the Isère département
- French language
- Franco-Provençal language
External links
- [Conseil Général website] (in French)
- [Prefecture website] (in French)
- [Encylopedia article about the Grande Chartreuse]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.