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46-574: Saint-Vallier in Drôme was the birthplace of one of France's most famous courtesans, the noble-born Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566), long-term mistress of King Henri II (1519–1559). The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution . The territory formed part of the former French province of Dauphiné . The original Drôme department contained

92-414: A Mediterranean climate. Near the highway, the change of vegetation is particularly visible near the stream at Donzère , particularly due to the change of the soil profile . The most southern part of the department clearly exhibits a Méso-Mediterranean climate with the reinforcement of the mistral and a hotter summer due to the rarity of storms. Most rainfall occurs in autumn and the winters are milder than

138-530: A flow of air from the north toward the east of Provence. This wind is frequently cancelled out close to the coast by the breezes from the sea. It does not blow for more than a single day, but it is feared in Provence, because it dries the vegetation and it can spread forest fires. The mistral helps explain the unusually sunny climate (2700 to 2900 hours of sunshine a year) and clarity of the air of Provence. When other parts of France have clouds and storms, Provence

184-593: Is 7.3 °C and the annual rainfall is 1,051 mm (41.4 in). The Diois (southern Vercors) and the Baronnies are dry regions due to the Mediterranean climate. The mistral is less influential here and this region has minimal rainfall. The lowest temperatures in January at Nyons is 0.3 °C but 1.4 °C at Pierrelatte. The Valence plane is a transition zone between the Mediterranean influence and

230-448: Is Marie-Pierre Mouton, elected in May 2017. Sport activities in Drôme include: The Drôme River is also a great place to practice canoëing and kayaking. In the spring the water flow allows for rafting. The Saoü Forest is known for its climbing paths. Saint-Vallier, Dr%C3%B4me Saint-Vallier ( French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ valje] ; Arpitan : Sent-Valiér )

276-557: Is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France . It is an administrative, commercial and industrial town at the confluence of the rivers Galaure and Rhone. The town is situated on the banks of the Rhone , 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Valence . The Galaure flows northwest through the southern part of the commune, crosses the town, then flows into the Rhone, which forms

322-472: Is already dry because of the small amount of rainfall, is made even drier by the wind, which makes it particularly susceptible to fires, which the wind spreads very rapidly, sometimes devastating vast expanses of mountainside before being extinguished. During the summer, thousands of hectares can burn when the mistral is blowing. In the Rhône Valley and on the plain of la Crau, the regularity and force of

368-516: Is bordered by Ardèche to the west, Isère to the north and east, Hautes-Alpes to the east, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the southeast and Vaucluse to the south. The northwestern tip of the department is only 3 miles (5 km) from the Loire border. The boundaries of the department have changed several times with the incorporation of the Comtat Venaissin in 1792 and the creation of

414-682: Is located in the west of the department , along the Rhône valley . This area which contains most of the population of the department, also has accessible transportation, such as the A7 autoroute and the rail routes LGV Rhône-Alpes and LGV Méditerranée . Economic activity in Valence was boosted by the creation of the Valence TGV line in 2001. The president of the Departmental Council

460-403: Is not always synonymous with clear skies. When a low pressure front over the Mediterranean approaches the coast from the southeast, the weather can change quickly for the worse, and the mistral and its clear sky changes rapidly to an east wind bringing humid air and threatening clouds. The position of the low-pressure front creates a flow of air from the northwest or the northeast, channeled through

506-469: Is rarely affected for long, since the mistral quickly clears the sky. In less than two hours, the sky can change from completely covered to completely clear. The mistral also blows away the dust, and makes the air particularly clear, so that during the mistral it is possible to see mountains 150 kilometres (93 miles) and farther away. This clarity of the air and light is one of the features that attracted many French impressionist and post-impressionist artists to

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552-606: The Bay of Biscay , and an area of low pressure around the Gulf of Genoa . When this happens, the flow of air between the high and low pressure areas draws in a current of cold air from the north which accelerates through the lower elevations between the foothills of the Alps and the Cevennes . The conditions for a mistral are even more favorable when a cold rainy front has crossed France from

598-812: The Occitan and means "masterly". The same wind is called mistrau in the Provençal variant of Occitan, mestral in Catalan , maestrale in Italian and Corsican , maistràle or bentu maestru in Sardinian , and majjistral in Maltese . The mistral is usually accompanied by clear, fresh weather, and it plays an important role in creating the climate of Provence. It can reach speeds of more than 90 km/h (56 mph; 25 m/s; 49 kn), particularly in

644-453: The Rhône valley , the meeting of the mild humid southern Mediterranean air masses with the colder northern air mass sometimes causes particularly violent thunderstorms and snowstorms. In the northern hills near Tain-l'Hermitage (15 km north of Valence ), the climate is a mixture of oceanic and semi-continental climates. Rainfall occurs throughout the year with the most falling in spring and autumn. The summers are moderated by storms and

690-588: The Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan . It also the pene-exclave of the department. The department contains 363 communes. The smallest commune in France, Rochefourchat , with a population only of one person, is in Drôme. The Drôme department is in a zone of transition between the oceanic climate of Lyon , the continental climate to the north and the Mediterranean climate of Provence to the south. In

736-616: The mistral does not blow hard. Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse has a moderate temperature of 3 °C in January and 21 °C in July due to the Lyonnic climate, where more precipitation falls in summer than winter. The influence of the mountains is evident in the east. In the Vercors Plateau , the mountain climate is wet due to the oceanic influences from the north. The average annual temperature at Lus la Croix Haute at altitude 1061m

782-466: The Mediterranean, particularly when low-pressure areas form in the Gulf of Genoa . The winds create a physically cold, salty ocean body that sinks in the Gulf of Lion when certain weather conditions are present. Similar names— maestral or maestro —are used for (although also mostly northwestern) a quite different wind in the Adriatic Sea . It is an anabatic sea-breeze wind which blows in

828-485: The Rhône Valley from Lyon to Marseille , and as far southeast as Corsica and Sardinia. The mistral usually blows from the north or northwest, but in certain pre-alpine valleys and along the Côte d'Azur , the wind is channelled by the mountains so that it blows from east to west. Sometimes it also blows from the north-northeast toward the east of Languedoc as far as Cap Béar. Frequently, the mistral will affect only one part of

874-508: The Rhône Valley, and the Venturi effect of funnelling the air through a narrowing space, is frequently cited as the reason for the speed and force of the mistral, but the reasons are apparently more complex. The mistral reaches its maximum speed not at the narrowest part of the Rhône Valley, south of Valence, but much farther south, where the Valley has widened. Also, the wind occurs not just in

920-432: The Rhône Valley. If this low-pressure area moves back toward the southeast, the mistral will quickly clear the air and the good weather will return; but if the cold-weather front continues to approach the land, bad weather will continue for several days in the entire Mediterranean basin, sometimes transforming into what French meteorologists call an épisode cévenol , a succession of torrential rains and floods, particularly in

966-431: The Rhône Valley. Its average speed during the day can reach about 50 km/h (31 mph; 14 m/s; 27 kn), calming noticeably at night. The mistral usually blows in winter or spring, though it occurs in all seasons. It sometimes lasts only one or two days, frequently lasts several days, and sometimes lasts more than a week. The mistral takes place each time there is an anticyclone , or area of high pressure, in

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1012-474: The South of France. The mistral has the reputation of bringing good health, since the dry air dries stagnant water and the mud, giving the mistral the local name mange-fange (Eng. "mud-eater"). It also blows away pollution from the skies over the large cities and industrial areas. The sunshine and dryness brought by the mistral have an important effect on the local vegetation. The vegetation in Provence, which

1058-409: The Valley, but high above in the atmosphere, up to the troposphere, 3 km (1.9 mi) above the earth. The mistral is very strong at the summit of Mont Ventoux , 1900 meters (6300') in elevation, though the plain below is very wide. Other contributing factors to the strength of the mistral are the accumulation of masses of cold air, whose volume is greater, pouring down the mountains and valleys to

1104-742: The Vaucluse department in 1793. Drôme surrounds an exclave of the Vaucluse department, the Canton of Valréas ( Enclave des Papes ). The commune of Montfroc forms a small salient which was surrounded by the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , which is similar to the small salients of Newmarket in Suffolk , Dieveniškės in Lithuania , Bogatynia in Poland , West Bengal and Sikkim in India , and

1150-634: The areas west of the Rhône Valley: the Ardèche , the Gard , Hérault and Lozère . The summer mistral, unlike the others, is created by purely local conditions. It usually happens in July, and only in the valley of the Rhône and on the coast of Provence. It is caused by a thermal depression over the interior of Provence (The Var and Alpes de Haute-Provence), created when the land is overheated. This creates

1196-513: The beginning. Excavations at the prehistoric site called Terra Amata , at the foot of Mount Boron in Nice , showed that in about 40,000 B.C. the inhabitants had built a low wall of rocks and beach stones to the northwest of their fireplace to protect their fire from the power of the mistral. The mas (farmhouse) traditionally faces south, with its back to the mistral. The bell towers of villages in Provence are often open iron frameworks, which allow

1242-527: The commune's western border. The town covers an area of 464 hectares (1,150 acres) and has just over four thousand inhabitants. It is the county town of the canton and is important as an administrative, industrial and commercial centre. It has developed in a linear fashion along the bank of the Rhone and has a catchment area of about fifteen thousand inhabitants. It has a number of factories and industrial units making aviation parts, ceramic insulators, nuclear taps, tiles and stationery. The Roman town of Ursuli

1288-523: The end of April. As summer visitors to the beach in Provence learn, the summer mistral can quickly lower the temperature of the sea, as the wind pushes the warm water near the surface out to sea and it is replaced by colder water from greater depths. The mistral regularly affects the weather in Sardinia and sometimes also affects the weather in North Africa, Sicily and Malta and other parts of

1334-438: The exclave of Orange , which was also part of the former province of Dauphiné. In 1792, following the annexation of Comtat Venaissin , Drôme acquired the newly created district of Carpentras while Orange was ceded to Bouches du Rhône . In 1793, the district of Carpentras was ceded to the newly formed department of Vaucluse , giving the Drôme its modern-day borders. Drôme lies within the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes . Drôme

1380-514: The flow of air comes from the northeast due to a widespread low pressure area over the Atlantic and atmospheric disturbances over France, the air is even colder at both high altitudes and ground level, and the mistral is even stronger, and the weather worse, with the creation of cumulus clouds bringing weak storms. This kind of mistral is weaker in the east of Provence and the Côte d'Azur. The mistral

1426-529: The lower elevations. This is similar to a foehn wind, but unlike a foehn wind the descent in altitude does not significantly warm the mistral. The causes and characteristics of the mistral are very similar to those of the Tramontane , another wind of the French Mediterranean region. In France, the mistral particularly affects Provence , Languedoc east of Montpellier , as well as all of

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1472-405: The mistral causes the trees to grow leaning to the south. Once the forest has been razed by fire, the strong wind makes it difficult for new trees to grow. The farmers of the Rhône Valley have long planted rows of cypress trees to shelter their crops from the dry force of the mistral. The mistral can also have beneficial effects—the moving air can save crops from the spring frost, which can last until

1518-400: The northern Mediterranean . It produces sustained winds averaging 31 miles an hour (50 kilometres an hour), sometimes reaching 60 miles an hour (100 kilometres an hour). It can last for several days. Periods of the wind exceeding 30 km/h (19 mph; 8.3 m/s; 16 kn) for more than sixty-five hours have been reported. It is most common in the winter and spring, and strongest in

1564-422: The northern cold climate. Summers are warmer than in the northern regions, and the increase in sunlight and heat is evident upon the appearance of Mediterranean vegetation in the region. The temperatures are moderate between Lyon and Montélimar. Valence's average temperature in January is 3.8 °C and 22 °C in July. The mistral here blows harder. From Montélimar, the climate can be considered to be that of

1610-499: The northwest to the southeast as far as the Mediterranean. This cold, dry wind usually causes a period of cloudless skies and luminous sunshine, which gives the mistral its reputation for making the sky especially clear. There is also, however, the mistral noir, which brings clouds and rain. The mistral noir occurs when the Azores High is extended and draws in unusually moist air from the northwest. The long and enclosed shape of

1656-435: The plain of the Rhône delta and the Côte d'Azur. The good weather is confined to the coast of the Mediterranean, while it can rain in the interior. The Côte d'Azur generally has a clear sky and warmer temperatures. This type of mistral usually blows for no more than one to three days. The mistral originating from the northeast has a very different character; it is felt only in the west of Provence and as far as Montpellier, with

1702-495: The railroad bridge, causing many deaths and damage to the south of the town. More information on the history and the "Montrebut" paleontological site of Saint-Vallier is available in a dedicated room near the local council building. Near Saint-Vallier, on the "Montrebut" hill, there is a fossil bed that serves as a biostratigraphical reference locality . Flowing water has buried the remains of animals over many millennia and careful excavations can help paleontologists understand

1748-636: The region. In the Languedoc area, where the tramontane is the strongest wind, the mistral and the tramontane blow together onto the Gulf of Lion and the northwest of the western Mediterranean, and can be felt to the east of the Balearic Islands , in Sardinia , and sometimes as far as the coast of Africa. When the mistral blows from the west, the mass of air is not so cold and the wind only affects

1794-417: The relative ages of different rock strata according to the different fossil remains found. This is one of only two locations in which fossils of the extinct badger species Meles thorali have been found. Saint-Vallier is the birthplace of Diane de Poitiers , one of the most well-known of French royal mistresses, born in 1499. She became the favourite of Henry II of France and wielded much power until he

1840-404: The rest of the Drôme. Pierrelatte has an average temperature of 5 °C in January and 23 °C in July. The inhabitants of the department are called Drômois . The most populous commune, home to about 1/8 of the department's population, is Valence , the prefecture. As of 2019, there are six communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants: Most of the economic activity of the Drôme department

1886-420: The summer when the east Adriatic coast gets warmer than the sea. It is thus a mild sea-to-coast wind, unlike the mistral. The strong katabatic wind there is the northeastern bora . In Greece, it is also known as maïstros or maïstráli . In southwestern Crete, it is considered the most beneficial wind, said to blow only in daytime. The mistral played an important part in the life and culture of Provence from

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1932-459: The transition between the two seasons. It affects the northeast of the plain of Languedoc and Provence to the east of Toulon , where it is felt as a strong west wind. It has a major influence all along the Mediterranean coast of France, and often causes sudden storms in the Mediterranean between Corsica and the Balearic Islands . The name mistral comes from the Languedoc dialect of

1978-406: The wind coming from either a northerly or north-northeasterly direction. In the winter this is by far the coldest form of the mistral. The wind can blow for more than a week. This kind of mistral is often connected with a low pressure area in the Gulf of Genoa, and it can bring unstable weather to the Côte d'Azur and the east of Provence, sometimes bringing heavy snow to low altitudes in winter. When

2024-542: Was built on this site at the confluence of the Galaure and the Rhone. The Château de Diane de Poitiers was built in the fifteenth century. It is flanked by corner towers that dominate the Galaure River. The château is surrounded by a landscaped garden designed by Le Nôtre . Château des Rioux is another ancient castle beside the three hectare Parc à l'Anglaise. It originally housed a religious community of monks but

2070-414: Was fatally wounded in 1559 in a jousting tournament and his widow, Catherine de' Medici , expelled her from the court. Mistral (wind) The mistral ( Catalan : mestral , Corsican : maestrale , Croatian : maestral , Greek : μαΐστρος , Italian : maestrale , Maltese : majjistral ) is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in

2116-511: Was rebuilt in the nineteenth century by Comte Dupeyroux de Salmagne. It offers accommodation in a gite and four guest chambers. The old city walls are still visible on the Place Orsolles and there is a covered market, built in 1852. In the eighteenth century, feldspar and kaolin were found in the area and an industry grew up making hard-paste porcelain fired at a high temperature. On August 16, 1944, 28 American B17s tried to destroy

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