What You Need to Know About Ardèche.
Here is the seventh department of France, it is called Ardèche and is divided into Communes (339), Cantons (33), and Arrondissements (3). The Ardèche department is part of the French administrative divisions on the map of France and it is also part of the Rhône-Alpes region. The population of Ardèche currently counts 306,185 inhabitants and its area extends over 5,528.64 km2. This corresponds to a density of 55.38 per km2.
Referring to the immigration rate, that of Ardèche is much lower compared to neighboring departments. However, most of its immigrants are native to the country and mainly gather in tourist sites. For the latter, the following are noted: Le Bourg-Saint-Andéol and Le Pouzin.
Historically, this department was born in 1789 after the declaration of human rights and the recognition of the Ardèche inhabitants adhering to Protestantism as full citizens. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that the Ardèche department was finally recognized, which had 34,000 Protestants as part of a community of 290,000 inhabitants.
We can therefore also affirm that Ardèche is one of the oldest French departments and, moreover, it was one of the 83 pioneers born following the revolution of 1790.
What Are the Neighboring Departments of Ardèche?
Formerly named Vivarais, Ardèche was an old province before becoming a department. Moreover, it is integrated into the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and its neighbors are:
- Drôme
- Vaucluse
- Gard
- Lozère
- Haute-Loire
- Isère
- Loire
Geographically, the territory of Ardèche is very contrasting due to its varying altitude: 40 m altitude for the lowest point, that is near the Rhône spillway, in the southern part.
What Is the Climate Like in Ardèche?
Located in the southern part of the Hexagon, its climate is terrestrial with fluctuations caused by the Mediterranean Sea. Although there is a lot of sunshine here and mild winters, there will be a strong temperature fluctuation due to the influence of the mistral wind.
This wind could lower the temperature down to 8° during the month of January, which is also the coldest month. Conversely, during the summer months, temperatures hover around 29 °C especially in July, which is the hottest month. In short, the Ardèche climate is characterized as Oceanic type.
What Are the Cities of Ardèche?
Indeed, when based on demography, that is the number of inhabitants per km2, we were able to list these few cities:
- Annonay,
- Aubenas,
- Guilherand-Granges,
- Tournon-sur-Rhône,
- Privas,
- Le Teil,
- Bourg-Saint-Andéol,
- Saint-Péray,
- La Voulte-sur-Rhône,
- Viviers,
- Vals-les-Bains,
- Le Cheylard,
- Villeneuve-de-Berg,
- Les Vans,
- Le Pouzin,
- Davézieux,
- Roiffieux,
- Cruas.
What are the 10 largest municipalities in Ardèche
In terms of area, the 10 largest municipalities in Ardèche are:
- Saint-Remèze
- Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès
- Saint-Agrève
- Sablières
- Mazan-l’Abbaye
- Lagorce
- Gras
- Désaignes
- Cros-de-Géorand
- Bourg-Saint-Andéol
In terms of population density per km2, the 10 most important municipalities in Ardèche are:
- Annonay
- Aubenas
- Guilherand-Granges
- Tournon-sur-Rhône
- Privas
- Le Teil
- Saint-Péray
- Bourg-Saint-Andéol
- La Voulte-sur-Rhône
- Viviers
