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Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France, formerly part of the province of Provence. Its main cities are Digne-les-Bains (prefecture), Manosque, Sisteron, Barcelonnette, Castellane and Forcalquier.  Bounded in the east by Italy, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department is surrounded by the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Vaucluse, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes. It can be divided into three zones depending on the terrain, climate, population, and economy, the plateaux, hills and valleys of Haute-Provence; the Lower Alps which is an intermediate mountain area with valleys and very remote villages and the High Alps including the valleys of Ubaye, Blanche, and the high Verdon (upstream of Colmars-les-Alpes) where the economy is built around winter sports tourism. In the Haute-Ubaye, the mountain peaks exceed 3000 m above sea level and all the passes are close to or above 2000 m in altitude. In this part of the department is one of the highest roads in Europe: the main road D64 reaches an altitude of 2802 m near the Col de la Bonette (2715 m) and connects the region of Barcelonnette to the Tinée and Vésubie valleys.

The climate of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department is a Mediterranean climate degrading by altitude and latitude. In fact, while in the lower valleys and flat lands of Haute-Provence an inland Mediterranean climate prevails, by contrast in the hills it is more mixed with the valley of the Ubaye characteristic of the inner Alps, with a marked continentality; winters are very harsh with stormy summers.

Many roads in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence are narrow and winding due to terrain. These natural conditions make access to certain parts of the department rather difficult, especially in winter, and particularly the communes in the Arrondissements of Barcelonnette and Castellane. They are therefore quite isolated from the rest of the department and the region. Learn more about the department of Alpes de Haute Provence on wikipedia.

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