Matheysine

The Plateau Matheysin is located in the Isère département, 30 km south of Grenoble when heading to Gap.

Included in the overall Taillefer massif, its average elevation is 1,000 m. Belonging to south-Dauphiné, it is crossed over by the 45th parallel north and roughly matches the boundaries of the former canton of La Mure.

Close to the Pierre-Châtel lake can be found one of the so-called Seven Wonders of Dauphiné, a natural arch called the Pierre Percée.

On this plateau, shaped by glaciers during the previous glacial periods and surrounded by high mountain ranges, the bise wind blows intensely, being frosty during Winter, but pleasant in Summer.

The alpine road used by emperor Napoléon I, after having landed at Juan-les-Pins on his return from Elba, crosses Matheysine.

This coal, of superior quality (anthracite) but in thin veins, was extracted from the beginning of the 19th century until the late 1990s.

Matheysine has been going through an economic reconversion since the planned decline and the cessation of the coal mining activity on the plateau.