Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (French pronunciation: [bɛlɡaʁd syʁ valsəʁin], literally Bellegarde on Valserine; Arpitan: Bèlagouârda) is a former commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune of Valserhône.[2]
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bèlagouârda (Arpitan) | |
|---|---|
Part of Valserhône | |
 Former Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Town Hall and current Valserhône Town Hall | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine  | |
  Bellegarde-sur-Valserine  Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | |
| Coordinates: 46°06′30″N 5°49′36″E / 46.1083°N 5.8267°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Ain |
| Arrondissement | Nantua |
| Canton | Bellegarde-sur-Valserine |
| Commune | Valserhône |
Area 1 | 15 km2 (6 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 11,268 |
| • Density | 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 01200 |
| Elevation | 330–1,542 m (1,083–5,059 ft) (avg. 485 m or 1,591 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
editBellegarde is located at the confluence of the Valserine and the Rhône.
At this spot, the water of the two rivers runs underground; it was possible to cross both of them easily. Since the inception of the Génissiat Dam at Injoux-Génissiat, the level of the Rhône was raised several metres and the Perte du Rhône submerged. A smaller, similar feature, the Pertes de la Valserine, on the former border with Lancrans, is still visible.
Bellegarde lies in a valley dominated by the Plateau of Retord on the west and the massif of the Grand Crêt d'Eau and the Vuache on the east. The passage created by the Rhône is the principal access to the area around Gex and the north of Lake Geneva. Since 1 January 2019, Bellegarde belongs to a new commune, with Lancrans and Châtillon-en-Michaille, named Valserhône.
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Climate
editBellegarde is under the influence of both an oceanic climate (notable precipitations in quantity and frequency) and a warm-summer humid continental climate (cold winters and warm to hot summers).
| Climate data for Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Valserhône, Ain, France, Alt. : 350 m, (1981-2010 averages, extremes 1994−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) |
20.2 (68.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
33.8 (92.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
38.6 (101.5) |
39.5 (103.1) |
32.7 (90.9) |
28.0 (82.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
39.5 (103.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.3 (61.3) |
21.0 (69.8) |
24.9 (76.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
26.3 (79.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
17.0 (62.6) |
10.1 (50.2) |
5.7 (42.3) |
16.4 (61.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) |
3.5 (38.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
10.2 (50.4) |
14.8 (58.6) |
18.2 (64.8) |
20.2 (68.4) |
19.6 (67.3) |
15.5 (59.9) |
11.8 (53.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
2.3 (36.1) |
10.9 (51.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.9 (28.6) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
0.9 (33.6) |
4.0 (39.2) |
8.5 (47.3) |
11.5 (52.7) |
13.3 (55.9) |
13.0 (55.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.6 (43.9) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
5.4 (41.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.4 (4.3) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−13.7 (7.3) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
2.3 (36.1) |
5.3 (41.5) |
4.7 (40.5) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 109.5 (4.31) |
96.6 (3.80) |
91.9 (3.62) |
87.2 (3.43) |
94.0 (3.70) |
74.3 (2.93) |
85.7 (3.37) |
100.2 (3.94) |
100.6 (3.96) |
106.0 (4.17) |
121.2 (4.77) |
118.2 (4.65) |
1,185.4 (46.67) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.7 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 11.6 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 10.5 | 11.4 | 10.8 | 120.7 |
| Source: Meteociel[3] | |||||||||||||
Transport
editBellegarde station has rail connections to Paris, Lyon, Annemasse, Geneva, Chambéry and several regional destinations. It lies on the Lyon–Geneva railway.
Population
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 11,497 | — |
| 2011 | 11,630 | +0.23% |
| 2015 | 11,809 | +0.38% |
| 2021 | 11,268 | −0.78% |
| Source: INSEE[4][5][1] | ||
Twin towns — sister cities
editBellegarde-sur-Valserine is twinned with:
Saint-Christophe, Aosta Valley, Italy (2000)
Bretten, Germany (2001)
References
edit- ^ a b "Populations légales 2021" [Legal populations 2021] (PDF) (in French). INSEE. December 2023.
- ^ Arrêté préfectoral, 22 October 2018 (in French)
- ^ "Normales et records pour Bellegarde (01)". Meteociel. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ Populations légales 2011, INSEE
- ^ Populations légales 2015, INSEE
