Editing Provence (section)

== Geography ==
[[File:Map Gallia Tribes Towns.png|thumb|The Roman Province of [[Gallia Narbonensis]] around 58 BC]]

The original Roman province was called Gallia Transalpina, then [[Gallia Narbonensis]], or simply ''Provincia Nostra'' ('Our Province') or ''Provincia''. It extended from the [[Alps]] to the [[Pyrenees]] and north to the [[Vaucluse]], with its capital in Narbo Martius (present-day [[Narbonne]]).

===Location and borders===

In the 15th century, the County of Provence was bordered by the river [[Var (river)|Var]] on the east and the [[Rhône]] to the west, with the Mediterranean to the south, and a northern border that roughly followed the [[Durance]]. Bordering it on the northwest were two territories that had earlier formed part of Provence, i.e., the [[Comtat Venaissin]], centered on [[Avignon]] which was ruled by the pope from the 13th century until the [[French Revolution]], and, just north of this, the Principality of Orange, that through inheritance became a possession of [[William the Silent]], who became the founder of the present ruling house of the Netherlands, the House of Orange-Nassau. The principality was independent between the 12th century and 1673 when it was occupied and then annexed by [[Louis XIV]] during one of his wars with its prince, Dutch stadtholder William III, the future king of England. At the end of the 14th century, another piece of Provence along the Italian border, including [[Nice]] and the lower Alps, was detached from Provence and attached to the lands of the duke of [[Savoy]]. The lower Alps were re-attached to France after the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713, but Nice did not return to France until 1860, during the reign of [[Napoleon III]].<ref>Edward Baratier, ''Histoire de la Provence'', 6–7.</ref>

The administrative region of [[Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur]] was created in 1982. It included Provence, plus the territory of the Comtat Venaissin around Avignon, and the Principality of Orange, the eastern portion of the [[Dauphiné]], and the former [[County of Nice]].

=== Rivers ===
[[File:France Avignon Total 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Rhône]] at Avignon]]
The Rhône river, on the western border of Provence, is one of the major rivers of France, and has been a highway of commerce and communications between inland France and the Mediterranean for centuries. It rises as the effluent of the [[Rhône Glacier]] in [[Valais]], Switzerland, in the [[Saint-Gotthard massif]], at an altitude of 1753 m. It is joined by the river [[Saône]] at Lyon. Along the Rhône Valley, it is joined on the right bank by the rivers [[Eyrieux]], Ardèche, [[Cèze]] and [[Gardon]] (or Gard), on the left Alps bank by rivers [[Isère]], Drôme, [[Ouvèze]] and Durance. At Arles, the Rhône divides itself in two arms, forming the [[Camargue]] delta, with all branches flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. One arm is called the "Grand Rhône"; the other one is the "Petit Rhône".

[[File:Belvédère du Tilleul-Route des Crêtes-Gorges du Verdon.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Verdon Gorge|Gorge du Verdon]]]]
The Durance river, a tributary of the Rhône, has its source in the Alps near [[Briançon]]. It flows south-west through [[Embrun, Hautes-Alpes|Embrun]], Sisteron, Manosque, Cavaillon, and Avignon, where it meets the Rhône.

The [[Verdon River]] is a tributary of the Durance, rising at an altitude of 2,400 metres in the southwestern Alps near Barcelonette, and flowing southwest for 175 kilometres through the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var before it reaches the Durance at near [[Vinon-sur-Verdon]], south of Manosque. The Verdon is best known for its canyon, the [[Verdon Gorge]]. This limestone canyon, also called the 'Grand Canyon of Verdon', 20 kilometres in length and more than 300 metres deep, is a popular climbing and sight-seeing area.

The [[Var River]] rises near the Col de la Cayolle ({{convert|2,326|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) in the [[Maritime Alps]] and flows generally southeast for {{convert|120|km}} into the Mediterranean between Nice and [[Saint-Laurent-du-Var]]. Before Nice was returned to France in 1860, the Var marked the eastern border of France along the Mediterranean. The Var is the unique case in France of a river giving a name to a department, but not flowing through that department (due to subsequent adjustments to the department's boundaries).

=== Camargue ===
With an area of over {{convert|930|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, [[Camargue]] is western Europe's largest river delta (technically an island, as it is wholly surrounded by water). It is a vast plain comprising large [[brine]] lagoons or ''étangs'', cut off from the sea by sandbars and encircled by [[Phragmites|reed]]-covered [[marsh]]es which are in turn surrounded by a large cultivated area. It is home to more than 400 species of birds, the brine ponds providing one of the few European habitats for the [[greater flamingo]].

=== Mountains ===
[[File:Alpilles landscape.jpg|thumb|[[Alpilles]] landscape near Le Destet]]
By considering the [[Maritime Alps]], along the border with Italy, as a part of the cultural Provence, they constitute the highest elevations of the region (the [[Punta dell'Argentera]] has an elevation of 3,297 m). They form the border between the French ''[[département in France|département]]'' [[Alpes-Maritimes]] and the Italian [[province of Cuneo]]. [[Mercantour National Park]] is located in the Maritime Alps. On the other hand, if the ''département'' [[Hautes Alpes]] is also considered as part of the modern Provence, then the alpin [[Massif des Écrins|Écrins mountains]] represent the highest elevations of the region with the [[Barre des Écrins]] culminating at 4102m.

[[File:Mont ventoux from mirabel.jpg|thumb|left|View of Mont Ventoux from [[Mirabel-aux-Baronnies]]]]
[[File:Vallon de Mollières 2004 07.jpg|thumb|left|Vallon de Mollières, [[Mercantour National Park]]]]
Outside of the Maritime Alps, [[Mont Ventoux]] (Occitan: Ventor in classical norm or Ventour in Mistralian norm), at {{convert|1909|m|sigfig=4}}, is the highest peak in Provence. It is located some 20&nbsp;km north-east of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the Drôme département. It is nicknamed the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald Mountain". Although geologically part of the [[Alps]], is often considered to be separate from them, due to the lack of mountains of a similar height nearby. It stands alone to the west of the [[Luberon]] range, and just to the east of the [[Dentelles de Montmirail]], its foothills. The top of the mountain is bare limestone without vegetation or trees. The white limestone on the mountain's barren peak means it appears from a distance to be snow-capped all year round (its snow cover actually lasts from December to April).

The [[Alpilles]] are a chain of small mountains located about {{convert|20|km}} south of Avignon. Although they are not particularly high – only some {{convert|387|m}} at their highest point – the Alpilles stand out since they rise abruptly from the plain of the [[Rhône]] valley. The range is about 25&nbsp;km long by about 8 to 10&nbsp;km wide, running in an east–west direction between the Rhône and Durance rivers. The landscape of the Alpilles is one of arid [[limestone]] peaks separated by dry valleys.

[[File:Paul Cézanne 107.jpg|thumb|''[[Mont Sainte-Victoire (Cézanne)|Mont Sainte-Victoire]]'', painted by Paul Cézanne]]
[[Montagne Sainte-Victoire]] is probably the best-known mountain in Provence, thanks to the painter Paul Cézanne, who could see it from his home, and painted it frequently.
It is a [[limestone]] mountain ridge which extends over 18 kilometres between the [[Départements of France|départements]] of [[Bouches-du-Rhône]] and [[Var (département)|Var]]. Its highest point is the ''Pic des mouches'' at 1,011&nbsp;m.

The [[Massif des Maures]] (Moor Mountains) is a small chain of mountains that lies along the coast of the Mediterranean in the department of Var, between [[Hyères]] et [[Fréjus]]. Its highest point is the signal de la Sauvette, 780 metres high. The name is a souvenir of the [[Moors]] (''Maures'' in Old French), [[Arabs]] and [[Berber people|Berbers]] from North Africa, who settled on the coast of Provence in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Massif des Maures extends about sixty kilometres along the coast, and reaches inland about thirty kilometres. On the north it is bordered by a depression which is followed by the ''[[Route nationale|routes nationales]]'' 97 and 7, and the railroad line between Toulon and Nice. On the south it ends abruptly at the Mediterranean, forming a broken and abrupt coastline.

The peninsula of [[Saint-Tropez]] is part of the Massif des Maures, along with the [[Giens Peninsula]] and the islands offshore of [[Îles d'Hyères|Hyères]]; [[Porquerolles]], Port-Cros, and [[île du Levant]]. Cape Sicié, west of Toulon, as well as the Massif de Tanneron, belong geologically to the Massif des Maures.

=== The Calanques ===
[[File:En-Vau calanque 2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Calanque En-Vau]]

The [[Calanques]] form a dramatic feature of the Provence coast, a 20-km long series of narrow inlets in the cliffs of the coastline between Marseille on the west and [[Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône|Cassis]] on the east. The best known examples of this formation can be found in the [[Massif des Calanques]]. The highest peak in the massif is [[Mont Puget]], 565 metres high.

The best known calanques of the Massif des Calanques include the [[Calanque de Sormiou]], the [[Calanque de Morgiou]], the Calanque d'En-Vau, the Calanque de Port-Pin and the [[Calanque de Sugiton]].

The calanques are remains of ancient river mouths formed mostly during [[Tertiary]]. Later, during [[Quaternary glaciation]], as glaciers swept by, they further deepened those valleys which would eventually (at the end of the last glaciation) be invaded by the sea and become calanques.

The [[Cosquer cave]] is an underwater grotto in the Calanque de Morgiou, {{convert|37|m}} underwater, that was inhabited during [[Paleolithic]] era, when the sea level was much lower than today. Its walls are covered with paintings and engravings dating back to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC, depicting animals such as bison, ibex, and horses, as well as sea mammals such as seals, and at least one bird, the auk.

=== Landscapes ===
[[File:Garrigue 2007-09-20.JPG|thumb|The [[Garrigue]], typical landscape of Provence]]
The [[garrigue]] is the typical landscape of Provence; it is a type of low, soft-leaved [[scrubland]] or [[chaparral]] found on limestone soils around the [[Mediterranean Basin]], generally near the seacoast, where the climate is moderate, but where there are annual summer drought conditions.<ref>See [[Mediterranean climate]].</ref> [[Juniper]] and stunted [[Quercus ilex|holm oak]]s are the typical trees; aromatic lime-tolerant shrubs such as [[lavender]], [[Salvia officinalis|sage]], [[rosemary]], [[wild thyme]] and ''[[Artemisia (plant)|Artemisia]]'' are common garrigue plants. The open landscape of the garrigue is punctuated by dense thickets of [[Kermes oak]].