The
Ubaye River gives its name to the valley. The Ubaye rises on the Franco-Italian border, in
Longet Lake, in the massif of
Monte Viso. It runs from east to west for 70 km (43 mi), before it flows into
Serre-Ponçon Lake. Its main tributary is the
Ubayette River, which rise in the
Lauzanier Lake.
Until the 1713
Treaty of Utrecht the valley was part of the
Duchy of Savoy from its head to the confluence of the rivers
Ubaye and
Durance, and was the site of two Savoyard invasions of France in 1690 and 1692.
The French Army of the Alps was based in Ubaye during the
French Revolution.
In the 1830s, the first real road to the valley was opened.
During the 19th century and the start of the 20th, many of Ubaye's people emigrated to
Mexico.
Ubaye Valley was occupied by Italians in 1942, then by Germans in 1943 and 1944