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The department of Ardeche corresponds to the old country of Vivarais, an administrative division of Languedoc. It presents very contrasted aspects, ranging between 40 meters of altitude at the confluence of the Rhone and the Ardèche river (South-eastern of the department) and 1 754 meters on the Mount Mézenc (Mid-west). it is limited in the east by the valley of the Rhone river and in the west by the high plates of the Massif Central. |
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The thermal spas of Ardeche are on the territory of the plates of Haut-Vivarais and Cevennes; it is a zone of transition which goes down from the mountain (altitude 1200 m) to the valley of the Rhone river (300 m). This slope of medium altitude shows an aspect of high and narrow green peaks separated by wild and insuperable throats. The hydrographic network is torrential there and the rains are characterized by an important frequency of the rains of summer. The climate is Mediterranean, less rigorous than the mountains one.
There are 286000 inhabitants in Ardeche today: 50 % of the people live in rural areas (in France, 75 % of people live in urban zones). The average density of population in the departement is 52 inhabitants per km2, When the Rhône-Alpes region has 122 h per km2 and France 104 h per km2 . |
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Ardèche
The Plate