Vercors Regional Natural Park
| Vercors Regional Natural Park (Parc naturel régional du Vercors) | |
| Protected Area | |
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| State | Drôme Isère |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Established | 1970 |
| Management | Fédération des parcs naturels régionaux de France |
| Website: http://www.parc-du-vercors.fr/ | |
The Vercors Regional Natural Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Vercors) is a protected area of forested mountains in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.
Contents
Geography
Set upon a limestone plateau south of Grenoble, the park extends into the French Western Alps.[citation needed] It spans two departments, Drôme and Isère, and covers a total area of 135,000 hectares (330,000 acres).[1] The plateau's main elevation reaches 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) while the eastern Alpine mountain ridge tops 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) with Le Grand Veymont (2341m).[citation needed]
The Vercors area is peppered with caves. During World War II, it served as a safe and defensible position for the French Resistance: Forteresse de la Résistance.[2] The area now contains around three hundred monuments to the Resistance, including a memorial center and the preserved remains of a destroyed village.[3]
In modern times, Vercors has become a popular tourist destination frequented for skiing, hiking and spelunking.[2] Several small communes dot the landscape, supported principally by forestry, shepherding and tourism.[citation needed] The area was officially designated a regional natural park in 1970.[1]
Member communes
The Vercors parklands include the following communes:[4][5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Official park website (French)
- Use dmy dates from May 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Geobox usage tracking for protected area type
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2011
- Articles with French-language external links
- Regional natural parks of France
- Geography of Drôme
- Geography of Isère
- Visitor attractions in Drôme
- Visitor attractions in Isère
- Protected areas established in 1970
