Vaucluse (Provençal: Vauclusa (Classical norm) or Vau-Cluso (Mistralian norm)) is a department in Southeastern France, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is named after the famous spring, the Fontaine de Vaucluse; the name Vaucluse itself derives from the Latin Vallis Clausa ("Closed Valley") as the valley ends in a cliff face from which emanates a spring whose origin is so far in and so deep that it remains to be defined. The department's prefecture is Avignon; it had a population of 559,014 as of 2016.
