Isère
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Isère | |
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| Coat of arms of the Isère department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 38 |
| Region: | Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture: | Grenoble |
| Subprefectures: | La Tour-du-Pin Vienne |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 58 |
| Communes: | 533 |
| President of the General Council: | André Vallini |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 16th |
| -1999 | 1,094,006 |
| Population density: | 147/km² |
| Land area¹: | 7431 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Isère (Arpitan: Isera, Occitan: Isèra) is a department, in the Rhône-Alpes (Rôno-Arpes in Arpitan) region in the east of France named after the Isère River.
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[edit] History
Isère 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 Dauphiné. Its area has been reduced twice, in 1852 and again in 1967.
Isère was also the name of the French ship which delivered the 214 boxes holding the Statue of Liberty.
[edit] Geography
Isère is part of the current region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the department of Rhône, Ain, Savoie, Hautes-Alpes, Drôme, Ardèche, and Loire.
Isère includes a part of the French Alps. The highest point in the department is the summit of La Meije at 3,987 meters. The Vercors Plateau dominates the west of the department.
[edit] Demographics
Inhabitants of the department are called Isérois.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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. In 2008 it is also going to be the target of CISV summer camp for some kids from Brazil (Bahia), Alta and the Philippines.
[edit] Miscellaneous Topics
Isère produces the following cheeses: Bleu du Vercours-Sassenage, an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheese, and Saint-Marcellin.
