Haut-Rhin

a department in eastern France, located in Alsace and bordering on Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany. Area, 3,500 sq km. Population, 613,000 (1974). The capital is Colmar.

Most of Haut-Rhin is in the Upper Rhine Lowland. The Vosges, with elevations reaching 1,426 m, are in the west. The economy is based on industry and agriculture; about 36 percent of the population is employed in industry and 9 percent in agriculture (1968). The cotton industry is centered in Mulhouse and Colmar, and the machine-building industry in Mulhouse. The potash mines near Mulhouse are of national importance; petroleum and uranium ore are also extracted. There are hydroelectric power plants on the Grand Canal d’Alsace and in the Vosges. Stock breeding predominates in mountain pastures. Plant growing is diversified; there are vineyards in the foothills, and the crops grown in the lowland include grains and sugar beets.