ISERE

dpartement, Rhne-Alpes region, southeastern France, created from the northern part of the historic province of Dauphin. It occupies an area of 2,869 square miles (7,431 square km), extending from the Hautes-Alpes dpartement in the southeast almost to Lyon, in neighbouring Rhne dpartement, in the northwest. The Rhne River makes a great bend along the northern boundary, leaves it to traverse Lyon, and bends again to form the border and flows southward past Vienne. The mountain-bound capital, Grenoble, lies in south central Isre at the juncture of the Isre River and its tributary the Drac. The highest mountains are in the southeast, where peaks of the Massif de Loisans and the Massif du Pelvoux rise to more than 12,800 feet (3,900 m). The country northwest of the Isre and of the Pre-Alps embraces the forests and wastelands of Bas Dauphin, extending to the fertile Rhne Valley. Isre receives abundant rain and snow and has hot summers and cold winters. Fertile strips of farmland are found in the great Graisivaudan depression northeast of Grenoble and in other valleys. The mountains, forested to heights of more than 6,000 feet (1,800 m), are exploited for timber. The development of hydroelectric power has permitted the rapid growth of industry, particularly in the environs of Grenoble, the valley of the Drac River, and along the cluses (mountain gaps) that mark the mountains' faces toward the lowlands; these industries include electrometallurgical, electrochemical, paper, and food-processing enterprises. More than half of the population is occupied in the transportation sector. Winter and summer sports and scenery draw great numbers of tourists to the mountains. The Grande Chartreuse monastery near Grenoble is not open to the public, but monks distilling the liqueur that bears its name may be seen in neighbouring Voiron. The historic chteau of Vizille (16th17th century) is open to the public. Isre was the homeland of the novelist Stendhal and the composer Hector Berlioz. Divided into three arrondissementsGrenoble, La Tour-du-Pin, and Vienneit is in the educational division of Grenoble. Pop. (1985 est.) 970,000.