Vallorcine

Geography

Vallorcine is located in the Valley of the L'Eau Noire between the Col des Montets and the Swiss border.

It is the terminus of the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway on the route between Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in France and Martigny in Switzerland; it is served by a railway station where passengers must change between French and Swiss trains. In the Swiss direction, the line continues to Le Châtelard where it joins the Martigny–Châtelard Railway which is partially rack-operated.

There is a small museum at Barberine next to the Swiss border and there is a tourist information office and a post office near the railway station.

La croix de Loriaz.jpg|The Cross of Loriaz on the heights of Vallorcine View into the Vallorcine Valley (12834416603).jpg|View of Vallorcine in the valley Le Buet Triebzug01 2000-03-17.jpg|A SNCF Class Z 800 trainset at Le Buet station Z-800-quai-vallorcine.jpg|Z 800 at Vallorcine station

Le Buet

Within the commune is the small settlement of Le Buet, which also has its own railway station; it is the location of the spectacular Cascade de Bérard, which has a viewing gallery that enters the gorge of the main waterfall. Further up this valley is the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve and the Nature Reserve of Vallon de Bérard.

Skiing

The community was transformed in 2004 with the construction of a high-speed gondola lift which allowed access to the established Domaine de Balme and La Tour ski areas. This gave rise to the construction of a selection of restaurants and ski accommodation.

Émosson Dam

Although the Émosson Dam for hydroelectric power generation is physically just over the Swiss border, water from the reservoir crosses the border to first power the 189 MW Vallorcine Power Station just over the border in Vallorcine. Water is then sent through a headrace tunnel to the 162 MW La Bâtiaz Power Station, 12 km to the east in Martigny, Switzerland. The drop between the dam and La Bâtiaz Power Station is 1400 m.

Climate

|Jan record high C = 19.5 |Feb record high C = 15.5 |Mar record high C = 19.7 |Apr record high C = 22.0 |May record high C = 27.7 |Jun record high C = 32.6 |Jul record high C = 32.3 |Aug record high C = 31.9 |Sep record high C = 28.4 |Oct record high C = 25.8 |Nov record high C = 20.0 |Dec record high C = 19.6 |year record high C =

|Jan record low C = -24.5 |Feb record low C = -23.3 |Mar record low C = -24.2 |Apr record low C = -13.7 |May record low C = -9.0 |Jun record low C = -3.0 |Jul record low C = -0.8 |Aug record low C = -1.0 |Sep record low C = -3.2 |Oct record low C = -10.0 |Nov record low C = -16.3 |Dec record low C = -20.2 |year record low C =

|access-date = March 3, 2024}}}}

Demography

|1968 |314 |1975 |283 |1982 |303 |1990 |329 |1999 |390 |2009 |419 |2014 |397 |2020 |407

References

References

1. (2 December 2020). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires".
2. "Vallorcine Chamonix Mont-Blanc, Haute-Savoie, French Alps".
3. "Électricité Émosson SA". Electricity of Émosson.
4. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7633058?geo=COM-74290#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE