Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Franco-Provençal: Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; Occitan: Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups) is an administrative region of France that was created on 1 January 2016 from the former French regions Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. It is in the central and eastern parts of southern France.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes  (Arpitan) Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups  (Occitan)
Region
Lake Annecy in the French Alps
Flag Coat of arms
Country	France
Prefecture	Lyon[1]
Departments	13 (12 normal departments, and 1 metropolis) Ain Allier Ardèche Cantal Drôme Haute-Loire Haute-Savoie Isère Loire Lyon Metropolis Puy-de-Dôme Rhône Savoie
Government
• President of the Regional Council	Laurent Wauquiez (LR)
• Prefect	Pascal Mailhos
Area
• Total	69,711 km2 (26,916 sq mi)
• Rank	4th
Population  (Jan. 2019)[2]
• Total	8,042,936
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Auvergnat / Rhônalpin Aurhalpin (rare & non-official)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-ARA
GDP ()	Ranked
Total	$327 billion (US$ bn)
Per capita	$40,200 (US$)
Website	auvergnerhonealpes.fr

Its capital is the city of Lyon.

Geography

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is the third largest region of Metropolitan France, after Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie, with an area of 69,711.2 km² (26,916 sq mi). It borders five French administrative regions: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the north, Centre-Val de Loire to the northwest, Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the west, Occitanie to the southwest and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to the southeast. It also borders two countries: Italy to the east and Switzerland to the northeast.

The region has the Massif Central to the east and the Alps to the east, with the valley of the Rhône river between them. Half of the Ain department is occupied by the Jura Mountains.

The extreme points for the region are in the communes:

• North : Château-sur-Allier, Allier (46.804272°N 2.959629°E / 46.804272; 2.959629)
• East : Bonneval-sur-Arc, Savoie (45.403287°N 7.185578°E / 45.403287; 7.185578)
• South : Ferrassières, Drôme (44.115494°N 5.494467°E / 44.115494; 5.494467)
• West : Siran, Cantal (44.976621°N 2.062885°E / 44.976621; 2.062885)

Its capital, Lyon, is at 465 km (289 mi) to the southwest of Paris, the national capital, at 315 km (196 mi) to the northwest of Marseille and at 554 km (344 mi) to the west of Bordeaux.

The distances from the different departmental capitals to Lyon, the regional capital, are:

• Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) - 81 km (50 mi)
• Moulins (Allier) - 204 km (127 mi)
• Privas (Ardèche) - 142 km (88 mi)
• Aurillac (Cantal) - 314 km (195 mi)
• Valence (Drôme) - 102 km (63 mi)
• Grenoble (Isère) - 106 km (66 mi)
• Saint-Étienne (Loire) - 63 km (39 mi)
• Le Puy-en-Velay (Haute-Loire) - 134 km (83 mi)
• Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) - 164 km (102 mi)
• Chambéry (Savoie) - 99 km (62 mi)
• Annecy (Haute-Savoie) - 101 km (63 mi)

Rivers

There are two main drainage basin in the region; some rivers in those basins are:

Atlantic basin Loire Allier

Mediterranean basin Rhône Saône

Mountains

The Mont Blanc (42°46′26″N 0°8′51″E), at 4,810 m (15,780 ft), is the highest mountain of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France, Italy and of Western Europe.^[3]

The highest points in the different departments of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region are:^[4]

Department	Mountain	Elevation
Ain	Crêt de la Neige	1,720 m (5,640 ft)
Allier	Puy de Montoncel	1,287 m (4,222 ft)
Ardèche	Mont Mézenc	1,753 m (5,751 ft)
Cantal	Plomb du Cantal	1,855 m (6,086 ft)
Drôme	Rocher Rond	2,453 m (8,048 ft)
Isère	Pic Lory	4,088 m (13,412 ft)
Loire	Pierre-sur-Haute	1,634 m (5,361 ft)
Haute-Loire	Mont Mézenc	1,753 m (5,751 ft)
Puy-de-Dôme	Puy de Sancy	1,885 m (6,184 ft)
Rhône	Mont Saint-Rigaud	1,009 m (3,310 ft)
Savoie	La Grande Casse	3,855 m (12,648 ft)
Haute-Savoie	Mont Blanc	4,810 m (15,780 ft)

Departments

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is formed by 13 departments and one territorial collectivity with the same powers as a department.

ISO 3166-2	Shield	Department	Prefecture	Arr.	Cant.	Comm.	Population (2014)[5]	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)
FR-01		Ain	Bourg-en-Bresse	4	23	408	626,127	5,762.4	108.7
FR-03		Allier	Moulins	3	19	317	343,062	7,340.1	46.7
FR-07		Ardèche	Privas	3	17	339	322,381	5,528.6	58.3
FR-15		Cantal	Aurillac	3	15	255	146,618	5,726.0	25.6
FR-26		Drôme	Valence	3	19	367	499,159	6,530.0	76.4
FR-38		Isère	Grenoble	3	29	521	1,243,597	7,431.5	167.3
FR-42		Loire	Saint-Étienne	3	21	326	757,305	4,780.6	158.4
FR-43		Haute-Loire	Le Puy-en-Velay	3	19	257	226,565	4,977.1	45.5
FR-63		Puy-de-Dôme	Clermont-Ferrand	5	31	467	644,216	7,969.7	80.8
FR-69		Rhône	Lyon	2	13	208	474,369	2,715	174.7
FR-69M		Lyon Metropolis	Lyon	1	0	58	1,433,613	533.68	2,686.3
FR-73		Savoie	Chambéry	3	19	285	426,924	6,028.3	70.8
FR-74		Haute-Savoie	Annecy	4	17	281	783,127	4,387.8	178.5
Total of the Region				39	242	4,112	7,820,966	69,711.2	112.2

Arr. = Arrondissements          Cant. = Cantons          Comm. = Communes

Demographics

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region had a population, in 2014, of 7,820,966,^[6] for a population density of 112.2 inhabitants/km². The department with more people living in it is Rhône with 1,801,885 inhabitants.

The main cities in the region are:

INSEE code	City	Department	Population (2014)
69123	Lyon	Métropole de Lyon	506,615
42218	Saint-Étienne	Loire	170,761
38185	Grenoble	Isère	160,779
69266	Villeurbanne	Métropole de Lyon	148,543
63113	Clermont-Ferrand	Puy-de-Dôme	141,365
74010	Annecy	Haute-Savoie	124,376
69259	Vénissieux	Métropole de Lyon	62,575
26362	Valence	Drôme	62,150
73065	Chambéry	Savoie	59,490
69256	Vaulx-en-Velin	Métropole de Lyon	45,294

Gallery

• 
  The valley of the Rhône river.
• 
  South side of the Mont Blanc.
• 
  Fourvière Basilica (Lyon) viewed from the Saône river.
• 
  Overview on Lyon during Fête des Lumières.
• 
  Fountain of the Three Orders, Grenoble

Related pages

• Auvergne
• Rhône-Alpes
• Regions of France