Canjuers is a calcareous plateau and a military camp

Military camp

A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...

 in Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

 in southeastern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Geography

Situated in the département of the Var in the Prealps

French Prealps

The French Prealps are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva southwest to the Isère and Drôme Rivers; east to a line running from Chamonix, to Albertville, to Grenoble, to Gap, to Barcelonette;...

 of Castellane

Castellane

Castellane is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...

, on the south of the Verdon Gorge

Verdon Gorge

The Verdon Gorge , in south-eastern France , is a river canyon that is often considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful. It is about 25 kilometres long and up to 700 metres deep...

 and to the north of Draguignan

Draguignan

Draguignan is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southeastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" and "Porte du Verdon".The city is only from St...

.

With a median altitude of 800 m, the Plan of Canjuers is a desertic and arid plateau.

History

Its name comes from Campus Julii: the "Julius Camp". Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 installed a campment in the area before the conquest of Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

.

The region surrounding the plateau has been occupied by the Army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

 since 1970. The Canjuers Camp is the largest military camp in Europe, covering 350 km². Many farms and hamlets have been evacuated and abandoned.

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