MAURIENNE

high Alpine valley, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern France. Drained by the Arc River, a tributary of the Isre, it consists of a succession of large basins and narrow, wild gorges that are cut through outcrops of heavily folded and overthrust rocks. Twenty-four hydroelectric stations in the valley generate power for electrochemical plants, aluminum refining, and electric, steel, and alloy production. In the Haute-Maurienne, spruce is logged for fuel and timber. Stock breeding, dairying, and cheese production are the main agricultural activities. The northerly trans-Alpine railway follows the Maurienne to Modane, Fr., whence the line runs southwest to Turin, Italy, through the Mont Cenis Tunnel. A road system, stretching southward from Lake Geneva to Nice crosses the Maurienne to give motor access to the outside world. Modane (the centre of tourism), Saint-Jean (the site of a major aluminum plant), and Saint-Michel are the chief towns in the Maurienne valley.