Valserhône (French pronunciation: [valsəʁon] ; Arpitan: Vâlcerôno) is a commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. It is the result of the merger, on 1 January 2019, of the communes of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Châtillon-en-Michaille and Lancrans.[3] In 2018, the three communes had a combined population of 16,431, with Bellegarde-sur-Valserine as the major population centre. This makes Valserhône the third-most populated commune of Ain, after Bourg-en-Bresse and Oyonnax.

Valserhône
Commune
Location of Valserhône
Map
Valserhône is located in France
Valserhône
Valserhône
Valserhône is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Valserhône
Valserhône
Coordinates: 46°06′30″N 5°49′36″E / 46.1083°N 5.8267°E / 46.1083; 5.8267
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentAin
ArrondissementNantua
CantonValserhône
IntercommunalityPays Bellegardien
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Régis Petit[1]
Area
1
62.54 km2 (24.15 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
16,295
 • Density260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
01033 /01200
Elevation330–1,606 m (1,083–5,269 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

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Valserhône is located at the confluence of the Valserine and the Rhône. It was named after the two rivers. The commune is part of Haut-Jura Regional Natural Park.

The commune has a station, Bellegarde, which is located at the junction of three railway lines and has regular service to various destinations in France and Switzerland.

Climate

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Valserhône has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Valserhône is 11.1 °C (52.0 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,184.6 mm (46.64 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 20.4 °C (68.7 °F), and lowest in January, at around 2.1 °C (35.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Valserhône was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 13 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −17.0 °C (1.4 °F) on 5 February 2012.

Climate data for Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Valserhône, Ain, France, Alt. : 350 m, (1991-2020 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) 5.9
(42.6)
8.3
(46.9)
13.0
(55.4)
17.1
(62.8)
21.0
(69.8)
25.2
(77.4)
27.5
(81.5)
26.9
(80.4)
22.3
(72.1)
17.2
(63.0)
10.5
(50.9)
6.2
(43.2)
16.8
(62.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)
3.4
(38.1)
7.0
(44.6)
10.7
(51.3)
14.7
(58.5)
18.5
(65.3)
20.4
(68.7)
20.0
(68.0)
16.0
(60.8)
11.9
(53.4)
6.3
(43.3)
2.7
(36.9)
11.1
(52.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.7
(28.9)
−1.4
(29.5)
1.1
(34.0)
4.3
(39.7)
8.4
(47.1)
11.7
(53.1)
13.4
(56.1)
13.0
(55.4)
9.7
(49.5)
6.6
(43.9)
2.1
(35.8)
−0.9
(30.4)
5.5
(41.9)
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) 116.3
(4.58)
92.5
(3.64)
88.7
(3.49)
81.5
(3.21)
94.2
(3.71)
86.1
(3.39)
86.9
(3.42)
91.4
(3.60)
87.4
(3.44)
108.8
(4.28)
118.7
(4.67)
132.1
(5.20)
1,184.6
(46.64)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 11.3 9.4 9.9 9.9 11.7 9.4 8.9 9.0 8.5 10.4 11.0 11.4 120.7
Source: Meteociel[4]

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 13,097—    
1975 14,194+1.16%
1982 13,812−0.39%
1990 14,157+0.31%
1999 14,422+0.21%
2007 15,375+0.80%
2012 15,764+0.50%
2017 16,423+0.82%
Populations of the area corresponding with the commune of Valserhône at 1 January 2020.
Source: INSEE[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Arrêté préfectoral Archived 23 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, 22 October 2018 (in French)
  4. ^ "Normales et records pour Bellegarde (01)". Meteociel. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968 Archived 18 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine, INSEE