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42-768: The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise National Park . It was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia until the Treaty of Turin in 1860. The commune of Modane is located in the Alps in the department of Savoie between the Vanoise massif to the north and between the Massif du Mont-Cenis  [ fr ] and the Massif des Cerces to the south. Crossed by

84-634: A Decauville narrow gauge railway. The cones and seeds were used to produce pine liqueur and food, respectively. In 2014, the capacity of the commune, estimated by the organisation of Savoie Mont Blanc  [ fr ] , is 7,849 tourist beds in 870 establishments. Valfréjus ski station concentrates most of these beds and structures (over 70%). The accommodation of the commune is as follows: 139 furnished ; 8 apartment hotels ; 5 hotels ; an outdoors facility; one holiday village and one gîte or overnight gîte. The Tour de France cycling race came to Modane, starting stage 19 there, in 2011 . Modane

126-491: A mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometres (50 miles or 0.75° of latitude ) towards the pole. This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors, such as proximity to oceans , can drastically modify the climate. As the altitude increases, the main form of precipitation becomes snow and the winds increase. The temperature continues to drop until the tropopause , at 11,000 metres (36,000 ft), where it does not decrease further. This

168-593: A railway line enter at the western end from the Isère valley, and leave at Modane using the Fréjus Road and Rail Tunnels respectively which both emerge at Bardonecchia in Italy . The Turin–Lyon high-speed railway will also be built through the lower valley. The other roads out of the valley use the following mountain cols: Other cols such as the Col d'Etache , Col du Carro and

210-451: Is due to welcome the return of the race during the 2015 Tour de France , for the start of stage 20, the penultimate stage, on 25 July. Maurienne Maurienne ( French pronunciation: [mɔʁjɛn] ; Arpitan : Môrièna ; Italian : Moriana ) is one of the provinces of Savoy , corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France . It is also

252-981: Is higher than the highest summit . Although this climate classification only covers a small portion of the Earth's surface, alpine climates are widely distributed. They are present in the Himalayas , the Tibetan Plateau , Gansu , Qinghai and Mount Lebanon in Asia ; the Alps , the Urals , the Pyrenees , the Cantabrian Mountains and the Sierra Nevada in Europe ; the Andes in South America ;

294-453: Is known as the adiabatic lapse rate , which is approximately 9.8 °C per kilometer (or 5.4 °F per 1000 feet) of altitude. The presence of water in the atmosphere complicates the process of convection. Water vapor contains latent heat of vaporization . As air rises and cools, it eventually becomes saturated and cannot hold its quantity of water vapor. The water vapor condenses (forming clouds ), and releases heat, which changes

336-542: Is the Maurienne line , or its official name the ligne de Culoz à Modane (frontière) [line of Culoz to Modane (border)]. It marks the territory of the commune of Modane looping 180° between its exit from the station and its entry into the Fréjus tunnel. The modern spelling Modane is not attested before circa. 1700. Previously, there were Amoudane , Amaudane , Amaldanus . The initial vowel has therefore fallen from use (taken for

378-444: Is the process of convection . Convection comes to equilibrium when a parcel of air at a given altitude has the same density as its surroundings. Air is a poor conductor of heat, so a parcel of air will rise and fall without exchanging heat. This is known as an adiabatic process , which has a characteristic pressure-temperature curve. As the pressure gets lower, the temperature decreases. The rate of decrease of temperature with elevation

420-503: Is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line , where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate . There are multiple definitions of alpine climate. In the Köppen climate classification , the alpine and mountain climates are part of group E , along with the polar climate , where no month has a mean temperature higher than 10 °C (50 °F). According to

462-559: The Arc river, it extends to the doors of the Haute-Maurienne. The issue of the attachment or not of Modane in the Maurienne Valley or Haute-Maurienne differs depending on the disciplines of economics, geography or geology. For economists, Modane is attached to Haute Maurienne, arguing that the city has a very strong influence on the villages of Haute Maurienne, through economic and administrative infrastructure such as shopping centres, schools or

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504-464: The Cime du Grand Vallon (marking the boundary with Italy) which delimit the neighbouring communes of Modane and Italy. The Modane territory extends in a particular form. Indeed, a relatively short east–west width on the north side of the valley (a few hundred meters to a maximum of 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) between the peaks), is much larger on the south side (about 2 to 8 kilometres (1.2 to 5.0 mi) from

546-405: The Col de Vallée Etroite are only passable on foot. Geographers traditionally distinguish three areas: the lower, middle and upper Maurienne. The province contains the following cantons , from west to east : The abundance of hydro-electric power (there are twenty-four hydroelectric stations in the valley) created heavy industry such as electrochemical plants and aluminum refining, but now

588-627: The Col du Mont-Cenis and the Italian border. The road is also the main axis of the commune, which it crosses through the full length of the centre. However, it has several street names including, from west to east: Avenue de la Liberté , Rue de la République , Avenue Jean Jaurès and the Cours Aristide Briand . The commune of Modane is home to an international railway station, the Gare de Modane , in which receives trains from Turin in Italy , through

630-857: The Dôme de Polset at 3,566 metres (11,699 ft) or the Pointe Rénod at 3,374 metres (11,070 ft). To the south stand the Pointe de Longecôte at 3,100 metres (10,200 ft), the Aiguille de Scolette at 3,508 metres (11,509 ft), the Belle Plinier at 3,076 metres (10,092 ft), the Pointe d’Arrondaz at 2,937 metres (9,636 ft) and also the Pointe du Fréjus  [ fr ] at 2,934 metres (9,626 ft). These peaks, however, leave easy passages, particularly frequented during summer by hiking tourists, either to

672-903: The Fréjus Rail Tunnel , and with trains to Chambéry , as well as the TGV on the Milan (Italy) to Paris route. The whole of the French part of the line is owned by the Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), the upstream network is managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana , society of FS ( Ferrovie dello Stato ), the lower part and the station being under the management of the SNCF . There is therefore an electrical disconnection and signaling changes upstream (catenary supports also bear inscriptions in Italian). The railway line serving Modane

714-567: The Holdridge life zone system, there are two mountain climates which prevent tree growth : a) the alpine climate, which occurs when the mean biotemperature of a location is between 1.5 and 3 °C (34.7 and 37.4 °F). The alpine climate in Holdridge system is roughly equivalent to the warmest tundra climates (ET) in the Köppen system. b) the alvar climate, the coldest mountain climate since

756-664: The Isère in the commune of Aiton . The mountains on the southern side are the Dauphiné Alps and the Cottian Alps . On the northern side are the part of the Graian Alps known as the Vanoise . The capital, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne , lies at the confluence of the Arc and the Arvan. Part of the main road and rail route between Lyon and Turin runs through the valley. The A43 autoroute and

798-937: The Sierra Nevada , the Cascade Range , the Rocky Mountains , the northern Appalachian Mountains ( Adirondacks and White Mountains ), and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in North America ; the Southern Alps in New Zealand ; the Snowy Mountains in Australia ; high elevations in the Atlas Mountains , Ethiopian Highlands , and Eastern Highlands of Africa ; the central parts of Borneo and New Guinea ; and

840-582: The Tarentaise Valley or to Italy . In addition, some welcome ski resorts located within walking distance of the town, among which are Aussois , La Norma and Valfréjus . According to the Köppen climate classification , Modane features a continental mountain climate (Köppen: Dfb), with long, snowy and very cold winters and warm, somewhat dry summers. The commune of Modane is bordered by nine other communes in France, besides its southern limit marked by

882-490: The lammergeier was recently reintroduced into the area. It appears that wolves have reached the region within the past five years. The Maurienne valley is home to around 20 ski resorts. There is also access to The Three Valleys via the Orelle gondola. In rough order heading up the valley: 45°12′N 6°40′E  /  45.200°N 6.667°E  / 45.200; 6.667 Mountain climate Alpine climate

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924-514: The unification of Italy . Despite this, the Maurienne and the Tarentaise valleys are classified as French towns and lands of Art and History . The middle part of the valley is industrial, and its significant towns are: The upper valley of the Arc is known as haute Maurienne . It lies along the Italian border around 45 km near Mont Cenis . It begins east of Modane , an old frontier town, at

966-506: The Franco- Italian border. To the west, Modane mainly borders Saint-André and Fourneaux , but also to the south-west, Freney , Orelle , and Névache in the neighbouring department of Hautes-Alpes . To the north, in the Vanoise National Park , the bordering communes are Saint-Martin-de-Belleville to the north-west, with Les Allues and Pralognan-la-Vanoise to the north-east. To the east lies Villarodin-Bourget , with Avrieux to

1008-684: The South shore of the CRA to peaks). From north to south, the municipality extends however over a length of around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). In Vanoise, the town is dominated by the Dent Parrachée at 3,697 metres (12,129 ft), the Pointe de l'Échelle at 3,427 metres (11,243 ft), the Rateau d'Aussois  [ fr ] at 3,117 metres (10,226 ft), the Aiguille Doran at 3,039 metres (9,970 ft),

1050-419: The biotemperature is between 0 °C and 1.5 °C (biotemperature can never be below 0 °C). It corresponds more or less to the coldest tundra climates and to the ice cap climates (EF) as well. Holdrige reasoned that plants net primary productivity ceases with plants becoming dormant at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 30 °C (86 °F). Therefore, he defined biotemperature as

1092-420: The bombing was the station, an important centre of transit between France and Italy. The bombing caused 60 victims and 100 houses were destroyed. A second bombing took place on the night of 10–11 November 1943, killing five civilians. In 1969, the city turned to tourism. A chairlift departing from Fourneaux and joining the hamlet of Charmaix on the commune of Modane, at 1,550 metres (5,090 ft) altitude,

1134-567: The commune extends along a north–south axis on both sides of the valley. To the north, Modane is bounded by the Roc des Saints Pères , and the Aiguille de Péclet (northwest) and the Dôme de Polset (northeast). To the south, also from west to east, these are the Refuge du Mont Thabor (marking the boundary with the department of Hautes-Alpes ), the Cime de la Planette, the Pointe du Fréjus  [ fr ] and

1176-532: The construction in 1885 of the Fort du Replaton , an interdiction fort to monitor the entrance of the tunnel. During World War I, a train carrying some 1,000 French troops from the Italian front derailed while descending a steep hill in Modane; at least half of the soldiers were killed in France's greatest rail disaster. During World War II , the city was bombed on 13 or 17 September 1943 by Allied aircraft. The objective of

1218-403: The emphasis in the area is on tourism, especially winter sports. Numerous ski resorts line the valley, from the small villages like Albiez-Montrond to the purpose-built resorts, dating from the 1970s like Le Corbier and Les Karellis . The Vanoise National Park and its protected surroundings are a major tourist attraction. Alpine ibex, grey wolves, lynx, royal eagles or vultures are among

1260-440: The lapse rate from the dry adiabatic lapse rate to the moist adiabatic lapse rate (5.5 °C per kilometre or 3 °F per 1000 feet). The actual lapse rate, called the environmental lapse rate , is not constant (it can fluctuate throughout the day or seasonally and also regionally), but a normal lapse rate is 5.5 °C per 1,000 m (3.57 °F per 1,000 ft). Therefore, moving up 100 metres (330 ft) on

1302-736: The many rare species that live in the numerous valleys of Maurienne. The famous but rare and expensive Bleu de Termignon cheese is made in the commune of Termignon in the Haute-Maurienne near the Italian border. The region has numerous traces of human habitation since the Paleolithic . In 1032, Humbert the White-Handed received the Maurienne , his native land, from Conrad II the Salian whom he had helped in his Italian campaigns against Aribert, Archbishop of Milan . The House of Savoy maintained their independence as counts and then dukes until Savoy

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1344-421: The mean of all temperatures but with all temperatures below freezing and above 30 °C adjusted to 0 °C; that is, the sum of temperatures not adjusted is divided by the number of all temperatures (including both adjusted and non-adjusted ones). The variability of the alpine climate throughout the year depends on the latitude of the location. For tropical oceanic locations, such as the summit of Mauna Loa ,

1386-548: The mouth of the Fréjus Road Tunnel , dominated by the resort of Val Fréjus. The villages, rising up from the valley, are: About 5,000 inhabitants live there permanently, but the population reaches about 15,000 in the winter. Much of the upper Maurienne is included in Vanoise National Park , which became the first national park in France in 1963. This borders Gran Paradiso National Park of Italy. The two parks are important areas for ibexes , chamois , and golden eagles ;

1428-450: The municipality of Modane). Between 1983 and 2008, the station evolved to have 7,000 tourist beds. 2014 municipal elections in Savoie  [ fr ] Modane is twinned with: In 2017, the commune had 3,097 inhabitants. Daycare: Schools: Collège: La Vanoise Collège In Modane existed around 1892 a large, fortified drying place for Swiss stone pine cones , which was accessed via

1470-403: The original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne . The Maurienne valley is one of the great transverse valleys of the Alps . The river which has shaped the valley since the last glaciation is the Arc . The valley begins at the village of Écot (in the commune of Bonneval-sur-Arc ), at the foot of the Col de l'Iseran , and ends at the confluence of the Arc and

1512-504: The preposition à [to]). The word could come from a proper name, that of the keeper of a manso , Amaudanes, mentioned in a cartulary of the 12th century. In 1871, following the opening of the Mont-Cenis rail tunnel Modane quickly became a border city. The Italian journey began between Italian immigration and transit trade and the population increased significantly. However, the increasingly strained relations between France and Italy lead to

1554-408: The railway station for example. However, for the great majority of analysts, Modane is a commune attached to the middle part of this valley, both by the relief (encompassing the whole canton is a dug coal-bearing furrow which extends to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne), and by the industrial history of this sector. With an area of 7,104 acres (2,875 ha) [28.74 square kilometres (11.10 sq mi)],

1596-638: The south-east. The commune is at the French end of the Fréjus Road Tunnel , one of the major transalpine road crossings along with the Mont Blanc Tunnel , linking France and Italy . Out of the tunnel, the A43 autoroute begins and which leads to Chambéry and Lyon , also passes on the heights of the commune (in Charmaix ). In addition, the D 1006 (former Route Nationale 6), an important route coming from Chambéry, also passes through Modane before continuing up to

1638-403: The surface. If radiation were the only way to transfer heat from the ground to space, the greenhouse effect of gases in the atmosphere would keep the ground at roughly 333 K (60 °C; 140 °F), and the temperature would decay exponentially with height. However, when air is hot, it tends to expand, which lowers its density. Thus, hot air tends to rise and transfer heat upward. This

1680-460: The temperature is roughly constant throughout the year. For mid-latitude locations, such as Mount Washington in New Hampshire , the temperature varies seasonally, but never gets very warm. The temperature profile of the atmosphere is a result of an interaction between radiation and convection . Sunlight in the visible spectrum hits the ground and heats it. The ground then heats the air at

1722-438: Was indeed created, like the d'Arrondaz snow stadium, allowing skiing at 1,550 to 2,500 metres (5,090 to 8,200 ft) altitude. In 1983, the promoter of Tignes, Pierre Schnebelen, created a new station from d'Arrondaz . It built the estate on the hamlet, two cable cars of 1,550 to 2,737 metres (5,085 to 8,980 ft), joining the top of Punta Bagna . A new international ski resort was created: Valfréjus (station attached to

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1764-457: Was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia , which included Piedmont in north-western Italy. In the Maurienne are a series of five forts, La Barrière de l'Esseillon, that were created by the Sardinians in the early 19th century to protect Piedmont from a French invasion. The Maurienne was not incorporated into France until 1860, as part of the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about

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