The geographical area of OHM Rhone Valley is the river route from Lake Léman to the Mediterranean, the river itself, its appendices aquatic and riparian, floodplain for some.
The study areas are thus subject to the influence of many amenities found throughout the river. These result of two key periods: the construction of the waterway (1840-1910) and the development of hydro-electric equipment (1948 to 1986). They have conditioned the evolution of contemporary landscapes and the distribution of human activities. A particular type of landscape characterized by Rhône "shorted," a channel and all associated works, repeats itself as a territorial pattern at each hydro development allowing unprecedented geographic comparisons and highlighting causality change.