Drôme
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Drôme in France
Coordinates: 44°45′N 05°10′E / 44.75°N 5.167°E / 44.75; 5.167Coordinates: 44°45′N 05°10′E / 44.75°N 5.167°E / 44.75; 5.167
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture	Valence
Subprefectures	Die Nyons
Government
• President of the General Council	Didier Guillaume (PS)
Area1
• Total	6,530 km2 (2,520 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	473,427
• Rank	53rd
• Density	73/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	26
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	36
Communes	369
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Drôme (French pronunciation: [dʁom]; Droma in Occitan, Drôma in Arpitan), a département in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.

History[link]

St Vallier in Drôme, was the birthplace of one of France's most famous courtesans, the noble-born Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566), long-term mistress of King Henri II (1547-1559).

The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. The territory formed part of the former French province of Dauphiné.

Geography[link]

Drôme lies within the region of Rhône-Alpes (Rôno-Arpes) and is surrounded by the departments of Ardèche, Isère, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Vaucluse.

The boundaries of the department have changed several times with the incorporation of the Comtat Venaissin in 1792 and the creation of the department of Vaucluse in 1793. Drôme surrounds an enclave of the department of Vaucluse, the Canton of Valréas (Enclave des Papes).

Climate[link]

Economy[link]

Politics[link]

The President of the General Council is Didier Guillaume of the Socialist Party.

Demographics[link]

The inhabitants of the department are called Drômois.

Main cities[link]

(1999 figures)

• Valence: 66,568
• Romans-sur-Isère: 33,665
• Montélimar: 32,896
• Nyons: 6,731

Tourism[link]

Sport activities in Drôme include skiing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing in winter; during the summer period, excursions, mountain biking in the mountainous area.

See also[link]

• Cantons of the Drôme department
• Communes of the Drôme department
• Arrondissements of the Drôme department

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Drôme.

• (English) Tourism website
• (English) Drôme Tourism Guide
• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website
• (French) Drome valley website
• (French) Drome Pictures