Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rhône
Coat of Arms of Bouches-du-Rhône Details
Information
Number	13
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Prefecture	Marseille
Subprefectures	Aix-en-Provence Arles Istres
Population - Total (1999) - Density	Ranked 3rd 1,835,719 361 /km²
Area	5,087 km²
Arrondissementss	4
Cantons	58
Communes	119
President of the general council	Jean-Noël Guérini
Location
Location of of Bouches-du-Rhône in France

Bouches-du-Rhône is a French département. Located in the south of France, it was formerly part of the province of Provence.

Table of contents

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 Miscellaneous topics
7 External links

History

Marseille has been a harbor since classical times.

Geography

The Bouches-du-Rhône département is surrounded by the Gard (west), Vaucluse (north), and Var (east) départements, and by the Mediterranean Sea (south).

Other significant cities include: Fos sur Mer, La Ciotat, Martigues

Rivers include:

the Rhône, which marks the border with the Gard département.

Economy

Demographics

Culture

Touristic highlights include:

Cities of Marseille and Aix en Provence
Roman and Romanesque monuments of Arles, UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Camargue and the city of Saintes Maries de la Mer
Alphonse Daudet's Mill in Fontvieille
Les Baux de Provence, medieval village
Tarascon, medieval castle and church

Historically, Provençal, a form of the Occitan language, was spoken in the area.

image:istres.arp.300pix.jpg
Istres, fourth largest town of Bouches-du-Rhone (40 000 inhabitants)
Larger version

Miscellaneous topics

External links

Conseil General's (département's governing body) website (in French)

French départements:
01|02|03|04|05|06|07|08|09|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|2A|2B|21|22|23|24|25 26|27|28|29|30|31|32|33|34|35|36|37|38|39|40|41|42|43|44|45|46|47|48|49|50 51|52|53|54||55|56|57|58|59|60|61|62|63|64|65|66|67|68|69|70|71|72|73|74|75 76|77|78|79|80|81|82|83|84|85|86|87|88|89|90|91|92|93|94|95
Départements d'outre-mer: 971|972|973|974