Saint-Véran (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ veʁɑ̃]; Occitan: Sent Veran [ˈsã vˈʀã]) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France in the Queyras Regional Natural Park. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.
Saint-Véran | |
|---|---|
 A view within Saint-Véran, in August 2008 | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Saint-Véran  | |
  Saint-Véran  Saint-Véran | |
| Coordinates: 44°42′03″N 6°52′09″E / 44.7008°N 6.8692°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Hautes-Alpes |
| Arrondissement | Briançon |
| Canton | Guillestre |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Mathieu Antoine[1] |
Area 1 | 44.75 km2 (17.28 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 167 |
| • Density | 3.7/km2 (9.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 05157 /05350 |
| Elevation | 1,756–3,175 m (5,761–10,417 ft) (avg. 2,040 m or 6,690 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
editSaint-Véran, located in the French Alps, is the most elevated commune in France and in Western Europe.[3] It is the third highest village in Europe, after Trepalle in Italy and Juf in Switzerland.
The permanent population is around 300 but swells with tourists in both summer and winter. In addition to tourism the main activities are agriculture and woodcraft.
Climate
editSaint-Véran has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The average annual temperature in Saint-Véran is 5.3 °C (41.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 709.6 mm (27.94 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 13.9 °C (57.0 °F), and lowest in January, at around −1.8 °C (28.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Véran was 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) on 23 August 1961; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −26.0 °C (−14.8 °F) on 10 February 1986.
| Climate data for Saint-Véran (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1951−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.5 (59.9) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.0 (68.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.7 (87.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
19.9 (67.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
30.7 (87.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.1 (37.6) |
3.8 (38.8) |
6.1 (43.0) |
8.0 (46.4) |
12.3 (54.1) |
16.5 (61.7) |
20.1 (68.2) |
20.1 (68.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
6.4 (43.5) |
3.3 (37.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
0.7 (33.3) |
2.7 (36.9) |
7.0 (44.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.9 (57.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
10.4 (50.7) |
6.7 (44.1) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
5.3 (41.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.6 (20.1) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
1.8 (35.2) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
7.6 (45.7) |
4.4 (39.9) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.0 (−7.6) |
−26.0 (−14.8) |
−24.8 (−12.6) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−12.0 (10.4) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−19.3 (−2.7) |
−26.0 (−14.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 40.7 (1.60) |
33.3 (1.31) |
42.2 (1.66) |
68.5 (2.70) |
63.5 (2.50) |
83.1 (3.27) |
53.2 (2.09) |
59.3 (2.33) |
71.5 (2.81) |
83.0 (3.27) |
59.0 (2.32) |
52.3 (2.06) |
709.6 (27.94) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.4 | 5.3 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 92.4 |
| Source: Meteociel[4] | |||||||||||||
Name
editThe village is named after Saint Véran, 6th century Bishop of Cavaillon who in legend drove away a dragon.
The Observatoire de Saint-Véran was constructed nearby by the Observatoire de Paris in the early 1970s.
Population
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 236 | — |
| 1968 | 220 | −6.8% |
| 1975 | 232 | +5.5% |
| 1982 | 275 | +18.5% |
| 1990 | 257 | −6.5% |
| 1999 | 267 | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 282 | +5.6% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ Page 505, Chapter Hautes Alpes, book France, Collection Guide vert, publisher Le Michelin, 2009
- ^ "Normales et records pour St Veran (05)". Meteociel. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
External links
edit
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