Manosque is considered the gateway to the Provençal highlands. The town extends over a 34.7 square miles area (56.73 km²) northwest of the Durance fault and above its alluvial plain. Manosque's essentially residential, commercial, and tourist center is dominated by the Mont d'Or to the east and the Toutes-Aures hills to the west. More diffuse urbanization has spread to the heights and the alluvial plain since the city's demographic boom in the 1960s. The industrial and commercial development zones of Manosque are all located in the Durance plain.