| Dauphiné Prealps | |
| Other Name: | Préalpes du Dauphiné |
| Country: | France |
| Subdivision2 Type: | Région |
| Subdivision2: | Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Parent: | Alps |
| Subdivision4 Type: | Rivers |
| Highest: | Grande Tête de l'Obiou |
| Elevation M: | 2790 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Coordinates: | 44.7753°N 5.8394°W |
| Geology: | Sedimentary rocks[2] |
| Orogeny: | Alpine orogeny |
The Dauphiné Prealps are a mountain range in the south-western part of the Alps. They are located in Rhône-Alpes and, marginally, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (south-eastern France). Dauphiné Prealps are the central section of the French Prealps.
The Dauphiné (in French pronounced as /dofine/) is a historical region whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of,, and .
Administratively the French part of the range belongs to the French departments of Isère, Drôme, Hautes-Alpes and, marginally, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The whole range is drained by the Rhône river.
According to SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain range is an Alpine section, classified in the following way:[3]
Dauphiné Prealps' borders are (anticlockwise):
The Dauphiné Prealps are divided into five Alpine subsections:
Some notable summits of the range are:
| Name | metres | feet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grande Tête de l'Obiou | 2,790 | 9,148 | |
| Grand Ferrand | 2,759 | 9,049 | |
| Pic de Bure | 2,709 | 8,885 | |
| Jocou | 2,501 | 8,203 | |
| Grand Veymont | 2,346 | 7,694 |
Some notable passes of the range are:
| Name | location | type | elevation (m) | elevation (ft) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Col de la Croix Haute | Clelles to Lus-la-Croix-Haute | road | 1,179 | 3,867 | |
| Col Bayard | Gap to Grenoble | road | 1,248 | 4,093 | |
| Col du Noyer | Le Noyer to Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy | road | 1,664 | 5,458 |