Vanoise National Park

Vanoise National Park

Vanoise National Park, nature reserve in Savoie département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. It is contiguous with the Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy. The park, created in 1963, is the oldest French national park and occupies 130,565 acres (52,839 hectares). The park is dominated by the Massif de la Vanoise, which is bounded by the Isère River to the east and the Arc River to the south. The Pointe de la Grande Casse (12,638 feet [3,852 metres]) is the highest peak in the park; there are 107 others that rise above 9,800 feet (3,000 metres).

Conifers predominate and include larches, firs, spruces, Scots pines, mountain pines, and arollas. Zones of quartzite and schist support rock campions, cowberries, wavy hairgrass, blue-spiked rampions, and round-leaved restharrow. Typical birds are nutcrackers, black grouse, ptarmigan, ring ouzels, golden eagles, and buzzards. Ibex, chamois, marmots, foxes, and badgers are common. Sheep are allowed to graze in the park.

More than 350,000 acres (141,640 hectares) adjoining the park have been designated as a peripheral, or buffer, zone, including La Grande Sassière Nature Reserve. This zone is designed to protect against exploitation of the area’s natural resources. Policies have been implemented to promote sustainable development, but compliance has been difficult in Vanoise because of the large ski resorts there.