Ardèche
Ardèche | |
---|---|
![]() Location of Ardèche in France | |
Coordinates: 44°40′N 4°25′E / 44.667°N 4.417°ECoordinates: 44°40′N 4°25′E / 44.667°N 4.417°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Prefecture | Privas |
Subprefectures | Largentière Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Government | |
• President | Laurent Ughetto[1] (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 5,528.6 km2 (2,134.6 sq mi) |
Population (2014)[3] | |
• Total | 322,381 |
• Density | 58/km2 (150/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Ardéchois |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 07 |
Arrondissements | 3 |
Cantons | 17 |
Communes | 339 |
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
Ardèche (Occitan: Ardecha) is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. It is named after the Ardèche river.
History[change | change source]
The department of Ardèche was created on 4 March 1790 with seven districts: Annonay, Aubenas, L'Argentière, Privas, Tournon, Vernoux and Villeneuve-de-Berg. The capital was Privas alternating with Annonay, Aubenas, Le Bourg(-Saint-Andéol) and Tournon. In August of that year, the number of districts was reduced to three: Mézenc, Aubenas and Tanargue. In September, Privas became the only capital of the department.[4]
In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the three districts were changed into three arrondissements: Privas, L'Argentière and Tournon.[4]
On 18 March 1988, Tournon changed its name to Tournon-sur-Rhône.[4]
Geography[change | change source]
The Ardèche is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of 5,528.6 km2 (2,135 sq mi).[2]
The department is surrounded by 7 departments in 3 regions:
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
- Loire (north)
- Isère (northeast)
- Drôme (east)
- Haute-Loire (west)
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
- Vaucluse (southeast)
- Occitanie region
The highest point in the department is Mont Mézenc (44°54′40″N 04°11′27″E / 44.91111°N 4.19083°E). It is 1,753 m (5,751 ft) high.;[5] it is in the northwest of the department, on the border with the Haute-Loire department. The lowest point, 40 m (131 ft) above sea level, is where the Ardèche river flows into the Rhône (in the south east of the department).
The main rivers in Ardèche are:
- Loire, that flows through the western part of the department and ends in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Rhône, that makes the eastern border of the department and ends in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Ardèche, a tributary of the Rhône.
The Allier river forms the border of the Lozère department and the Ardèche for about 20 km (12 mi).
Climate[change | change source]
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Privas is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype Cfb.[6] The southern part of the department has a Mediterranean climate of the subtype Csb.
Administration[change | change source]
Ardèche is managed by the Departmental Council of Ardèche in Privas. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Administrative divisions[change | change source]
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 339 communes (municipalities) in Ardèche.[7]
INSEE code |
Arrondissement | Capital | Population[8] (2014) |
Area[9] (km²) |
Density (Inh./km²) |
Communes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
071 | Largentière | Largentière | 98,821 | 2,511.3 | 39.4 | 153 |
072 | Privas | Privas | 87,774 | 1,159.4 | 75.7 | 66 |
073 | Tournon-sur-Rhône | Tournon-sur-Rhône | 135,786 | 1,858.0 | 73.1 | 120 |
The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Ardèche department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[10]
- Annonay-1 (0701)
- Annonay-2 (0702)
- Aubenas-1 (0703)
- Aubenas-2 (0704)
- Bourg-Saint-Andéol (0705)
- Le Cheylard (0706)
- Guilherand-Granges (0707)
- Lamastre (0708)
- Le Pouzin (0709)
- Privas (0710)
- Sarras (0711)
- Le Teil (0712)
- Thueyts (0713)
- Tournon-sur-Rhône (0714)
- Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (0715)
- Les Vans (0716)
- La Voulte-sur-Rhône (0717)
Demographics[change | change source]
The inhabitants of Ardèche are known, in French, as Ardéchois (women: Ardéchoises).[11]
Ardèche had a population, in 2014, of 322,381,[3] for a population density of 58.3 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Tournon-sur-Rhône, with 135,786 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.[8]
Evolution of the population in Allier

The communes in the department with more than 7,000 inhabitants are:[8]
City | Population (2014)[8] |
Arrondissement |
---|---|---|
Annonay | 16,302 | Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Aubenas | 11,917 | Largentière |
Guilherand-Granges | 10,841 | Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Tournon-sur-Rhône | 10,558 | Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Le Teil | 8,376 | Privas |
Privas | 8,313 | Privas |
Saint-Péray | 7,494 | Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Bourg-Saint-Andéol | 7,236 | Tournon-sur-Rhône |
Gallery[change | change source]
Related pages[change | change source]
- Cantons of the Ardèche department
- Arrondissements of the Ardèche department
- Communes of the Ardèche department
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Le Président". Ardèche, le Département. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Département de l'Ardèche (07)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Historique de l'Ardèche". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ↑ "Mont Mézenc, France". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ↑ "Ville de Privas" (in French). Annuaire des Mairies et Villes de France. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ↑ "Département de l'Ardèche (07)" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ "Département de l'Allier (03) et Arrondissements". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ↑ "Décret n° 2014-148 du 13 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département de l'Ardèche" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ↑ "Habitants du départment: Ardèche (07)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
Other websites[change | change source]

- Departmental Council website (in French)
- Prefecture website (in French)