Editing Luberon

{{Short description|Chain of mountains in Provence}}{{For|the wine region|Luberon AOC}}
[[File:Luberon topographic map-fr.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the Luberon and its surroundings]]
[[Image:Menerbes Plaine du Luberon.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|View of vineyards in the Luberon massif from the village of [[Ménerbes]], [[Vaucluse]]]]
The '''Luberon''' ({{IPA|fr|lyb(ə)ʁɔ̃}} or {{IPA|fr|lybeʁɔ̃|}}; [[Provençal dialect|Provençal]]: ''Leberon'' {{small|([[Occitan language|classical norm]])}} or ''Leberoun'' {{small|([[Mistralian norm]])}}) is a [[massif]] in central [[Provence]] in [[Southern France]], part of the [[French Prealps]]. It has a maximum [[elevation]] of {{convert|1256|m|ft}} and an area of about {{convert|600|km2|sqmi}}. It is composed of three [[mountain range]]s (from west to east): Lesser Luberon (''Petit Luberon''), Greater Luberon (''Grand Luberon'') and Eastern Luberon (''Luberon oriental''). The valleys north and south of them contain a number of towns and villages as well as agricultural land; the northern part is marked by the [[Calavon]], while the southern part is characterised by the [[Durance]].

The Luberon is often advertised under the name '''Lubéron''' (with an [[acute accent]] on top of the "e"); some dictionaries justify that the two spellings are interchangeable.<ref name="tgmanlb">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/07/frenchman-fights-remove-e-luberon-provence/ | title=Frenchman fights to remove accent from Lubéron in Provence | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]"  | date=7 September 2017 | access-date=8 September 2017 | author=Samuel, Henry}}</ref> The total number of inhabitants varies greatly between winter and summer, due to a massive influx of tourists during the warm season. It is a favourite destination for French high society and British and American visitors because of the pleasant and picturesque towns and villages, comfortable way of life, agricultural wealth, historical and cultural associations, as well as hiking trails. [[Samuel Beckett]] notably lived in Cave Bonelly, a vineyard near to [[Roussillon, Vaucluse|Roussillon]], during [[World War II]]. 

In the last two decades the Luberon has become known in the English-speaking world especially through a series of books by British author [[Peter Mayle]] chronicling his life as an [[expatriate]] settled in the Luberon village of [[Ménerbes]]. These are titled ''[[A Year in Provence]]'', ''Toujours Provence'' and ''Encore Provence''. Another of Mayle's books, a novel set in the Luberon, was made into a film called ''[[A Good Year]]'' (2006) directed by [[Ridley Scott]], starring [[Russell Crowe]] and filmed in the region.

==Flora and fauna==
Luberon is particularly rich in biological diversity. There are known to be around 1,500 species of plants, accounting for 30% of the flora and fauna in France, 17,000 species and sub-species of insects with almost 2,300 species of Lepidoptera, or nearly 40% of species living in France, 341 species and subspecies of vertebrate wildlife, 135 species of birds and 21 species of bats or 70% of species present in France. Among the 1,500 different species of plants, there are 700 species and sub-species of higher plants and 200 species of lichens. Rich [[fossil]] deposits are also preserved here, documenting for example ancient species related to [[songbird]]s, as well as an ancestral [[pelican]].

<gallery class="right">
Image:Snake (Elaphe scalaris) by JM Rosier.JPG|[[Ladder snake]]
Image:Habichtsadler.jpg|[[Bonelli's eagle]]
Image:Circaetus gallicus 01.JPG|[[Short-toed snake eagle]], the largest bird of prey of the Luberon
Image:Dectique à front blanc.jpg|[[Decticus albifrons|Southern Wartbiter]]
</gallery>

==Nuclear facilities==
The ''[[Force de frappe]]'' or French strategic nuclear arsenal used to be located on the Plateau d'Albion before being dismantled in the late 1980s. Now, the underground site where the missile controls were located is a public multidisciplinary laboratory of the [[University of Nice Sophia Antipolis]], the [[:fr:Laboratoire souterrain à bas bruit de Rustrel - Pays d’Apt|Low Noise Underground Laboratory]] (LSBB) of [[Rustrel]], Pays d'Apt.<ref>[http://lsbb.oca.eu/?lang=en Low Noise Underground Laboratory (LSBB) of Rustrel, Pays d'Apt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731051511/http://lsbb.oca.eu/?lang=en |date=2012-07-31 }}</ref>

==Communes in the Parc naturel régional du Luberon==
===In Vaucluse===
[[Image:Gordes 2 By JM Rosier.jpg|thumb|[[Gordes]] from the valley]]
[[File:Pavillon de Galon.jpg|thumb|The contemporary garden "à la Française" in Provence: the [[Pavillon de Galon]] in Cucuron]]
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Ansouis]]
* [[Apt, Vaucluse|Apt]], small town near the eastern end of the Luberon valley
* [[La Bastide-des-Jourdans]]
* [[La Bastidonne]]
* [[Beaumettes]]
* [[Beaumont-de-Pertuis]]
* [[Bonnieux]]
* [[Buoux]]
* [[Cabrières-d'Aigues]]
* [[Cadenet]]
* [[Caseneuve]]
* [[Cavaillon]], small town at the western entrance to the Luberon valley
* [[Cheval-Blanc, Vaucluse|Cheval-Blanc]]
* [[Cucuron]]
* [[Gargas, Vaucluse|Gargas]]
* [[Gordes]]
* [[Goult]]
* [[Grambois]]
* [[Joucas]]
* [[Lacoste, Vaucluse|Lacoste]]
* [[Lagarde-d'Apt]]
* [[Lauris]]
* [[Lioux]]
* [[Lourmarin]]
* [[Maubec, Vaucluse|Maubec]]
* [[Ménerbes]]
* [[Mérindol]]
* [[Mirabeau, Vaucluse|Mirabeau]]
* [[Murs, Vaucluse|Murs]]
* [[Oppède]]
* [[Pertuis]]
* [[Peypin-d'Aigues]]
* [[Puget, Vaucluse|Puget]]
* [[Puyvert]]
* [[Robion]]
* [[Roussillon, Vaucluse|Roussillon]]
* [[Rustrel]]
* [[Saignon]]
* [[Saint-Martin-de-Castillon]]
* [[Saint-Martin-de-la-Brasque]]
* [[Saint-Pantaléon, Vaucluse|Saint-Pantaléon]]
* [[Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt]]
* [[Sannes]]
* [[Taillades]]
* [[La Tour-d'Aigues]]
* [[Vaugines]]
* [[Viens, Vaucluse|Viens]]
* [[Villars, Vaucluse|Villars]]
* [[Villelaure]]
* [[Vitrolles-en-Luberon]]
{{div col end}}

===In Alpes-de-Haute-Provence===
{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
* [[Aubenas-les-Alpes]]
* [[La Brillanne]]
* [[Céreste]]
* [[Dauphin, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Dauphin]]
* [[Forcalquier]]
* [[Limans]]
* [[Lurs, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Lurs]]
* [[Manosque]]
* [[Montfuron]]
* [[Montjustin]]
* [[Niozelles]]
* [[Oppedette]]
* [[Pierrerue, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Pierrerue]]
* [[Pierrevert]]
* [[Reillanne]]
* [[Revest-des-Brousses]]
* [[Saint-Maime]]
* [[Saint-Martin-les-Eaux]]
* [[Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire]]
* [[Sainte-Tulle]]
* [[Vachères]]
* [[Villemus]]
* [[Villeneuve, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Villeneuve]]
* [[Volx]]
{{div col end}}

==Golden triangle of Luberon==
*[[Bonnieux]], village on the border between the Little and Big Luberon
*[[Gordes]], facing the Luberon, this village is considered the top of the Golden Triangle (the base being made by the Little Luberon mountains)
*[[Goult]], perched on a hill in the middle of the valley of the Luberon
*[[Lacoste, Vaucluse|Lacoste]] and the ancient castle of the uncle of "le Marquis de Sade"
*[[Ménerbes]]
*[[Oppède]] with its historic section perched on the hillside [[Oppède-le-Vieux]]
*[[Roussillon, Vaucluse|Roussillon]], like Goult, perched on a hill within the Luberon valley

===Southern Luberon===
*[[Lourmarin]], village on the border between Little and Big Luberon
*[[Cucuron]]
*[[Pavillon de Galon]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Mayle, Peter. ''A Year in Provence''. New York: Vintage Books, 1989.
*Mayle, Peter. ''Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France''. New York: Knopf, 1999.
*Mayle, Peter. ''Toujours Provence''. New York: Knopf, 1991.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Luberon}}
*[http://www.notreprovence.fr/en_provence_mountain_luberon.php Discover the Luberon on Notreprovence.fr in English]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090316054313/http://www.provence-luberon-news.com/en/Provence-Kiosk/Art-and-Gallery/Photography/Aerial-views-of-the-Luberon Aerial photos Luberon]
*[http://www.luberonexperience.com/luberon/ Photo essay - Experience the Luberon]
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{{Western Alps}}
[[Category:Geography of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence]]
[[Category:Geography of Vaucluse]]
[[Category:Biosphere reserves of France]]
[[Category:Global Geoparks Network members]]
[[Category:Geoparks in France]]
[[Category:Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia]]