Cantal department

Cantal
region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
prefecture	Aurillac
Sub-prefecture (s)	Mauriac ; Saint-Flour
Residents	145,143 (Jan. 1, 2017)
Population density	25 inhabitants per km²
surface	5,725.05 km²
Arrondissements	3
Community associations	10
Cantons	15th
Communities	246
President of the ; Department Council	Vincent Descœur
ISO-3166-2 code	FR-15
	; Location of the Cantal in the ; region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes

The Cantal department [ kɑtal ] is the French department of 15 with the ordinal number It is located in the center of the country in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and after the second highest mountain in the Massif Central , the Plomb du Cantal , named (1855 m).

geography

The department borders in the north with the department Puy-de-Dôme , in the east with the department Haute-Loire , in the southeast with the department Lozère of the region Occitania , in the south with the department Aveyron , also Occitania, in the southwest with the department Lot , also Occitania, and to the west and northwest to the Corrèze department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region .

The department is located in the interior of the Massif Central . In the Monts du Cantal , in the middle of the department, is the eponymous Plomb du Cantal . The Volcans d'Auvergne Regional Nature Park encompasses the central part of the department and merges into the Puy-de-Dôme department in the north. The Artense granite plateau and the Cézallier mountains lie on the border of the department . The Dordogne mostly flows on the north-western border to the Corrèze department, the Lot on part of the southern border to the Aveyron department. The Truyère , a right tributary of the Lot, runs through the southeast of the department in a chain of gorges and reservoirs.

coat of arms

Description: In gold, a red church flag with a green border on which a blue sign with a golden diagonal bar lies, which is accompanied by three silver shells on both sides.

history

The department was formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 from part of what was then the province of Auvergne . It was divided into four districts ( French: district ), the forerunners of the arrondissements . The districts were Aurillac, Mauriac, Murat and Saint-Flour. The department and the districts were divided into 20 cantons and had (1791) 239,972 inhabitants. The capital was initially Saint-Flour , alternating with Aurillac . In 1794, Saint-Flour was designated the sole capital, but was finally set to Aurillac in 1795.

The districts corresponding arrondissements Aurillac , Mauriac , Murat and Saint-Flour were established on February 17, 1800. On September 10, 1926, the Arrondissement Murat was dissolved and incorporated into the Arrondissement Saint-Flour.

From 1960 to 2015 it was part of the Auvergne region , which in 2016 became part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Cities

The most populous municipalities in the Cantal department are:

city	Population (2017)	Arrondissement
Aurillac	25,499	Aurillac
Saint-Flour	6,435	Saint-Flour
Arpajon-sur-Cère	6.217	Aurillac

Administrative division

Communes and arrondissements in the Cantal department

The Cantal department is divided into 3 arrondissements , 15 cantons and 246 communes :

Arrondissement	Cantons	Communities	Residents January 1, 2017	Area km²	Density of population / km²	Code INSEE
Aurillac	8th	93	000000000081896.000000000081,896	1,935.99	000000000000042.000000000042	151
Mauriac	3 (+1)	55	000000000025739.000000000025,739	1,278.47	000000000000020.000000000020th	152
Saint-Flour	4 (+1)	98	000000000037508.000000000037.508	2,510.59	000000000000015.000000000015th	153
Cantal department	15th	246	000000000145143.0000000000145.143	5,725.05	000000000000025.000000000025th	15th