Lozère department

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Lozère
Coat of arms of the Lozère department
Finistère Côtes-d’Armor Ille-et-Vilaine Morbihan Loire-Atlantique Vendée Manche Mayenne Orne Calvados Maine-et-Loire Sarthe Indre-et-Loire Vienne Deux-Sèvres Indre Loir-et-Cher Eure Eure-et-Loir Seine-Maritime Oise Aisne Somme Pas-de-Calais Nord Ardennes Marne Meuse Meurthe-et-Moselle Haute-Marne Vosges Moselle Haut-Rhin Bas-Rhin Territoire de Belfort Cher Loiret Yonne Aube Côte-d’Or Nièvre Haute-Saône Essonne Yvelines Seine-et-Marne Val-d’Oise Hauts-de-Seine Val-de-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis Paris Doubs Jura Saône-et-Loire Allier Creuse Haute-Vienne Charente Charente-Maritime Corrèze Dordogne Gironde Puy-de-Dôme Loire Rhône Ain Haute-Savoie Cantal Lot Savoie Haute-Loire Isère Ardèche Landes Lot-et-Garonne Hautes-Alpes Drôme Alpes-Maritimes Var Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Vaucluse Bouches-du-Rhône Gard Hérault Lozère Aveyron Tarn Tarn-et-Garonne Gers Pyrènèes-Atlantiques Hautes-Pyrénées Aude Pyrénées-Orientales Haute-Garonne Ariège Haute-Corse Corse-du-Sud Vereinigtes Königreich Andorra Guernsey Jersey Niederlande Belgien Luxemburg Deutschland Liechtenstein Monaco Österreich Schweiz Italien SpanienLocation of the Lozère department in France
About this picture
region Occitania
prefecture Mende
Sub-prefecture (s) Florac
Residents 76,601 (Jan. 1, 2017)
Population density 15 inhabitants per km²
surface 5,167.58 km²
Arrondissements 2
Community associations 11
Cantons 13
Communities 152
President of the
Department Council
Sophie Pantel ( PS )
ISO-3166-2 code FR-48
Location of the Lozère
Location of the Lozère department in the Occitanie
region

The Lozère [ loˈzɛːʀ ] department is the French department with serial number 48. It is located in the south of the country in the Occitanie region and is named after the Mont Lozère massif in the Cevennes National Park .

geography

View of the Tarn river and the village of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn

With a size of just over 5,000 km², the department is located in the north of the Occitanie region and borders the Cantal , Haute-Loire , Ardèche , Gard and Aveyron departments . The low mountain range of the Cevennes runs right through the southeastern part of the department, which is largely designated as a national park ( Cevennes National Park , fr: Parc National des Cévennes ). The Gorges du Tarn (gorges of the Tarn river ) represent a particular scenic attraction .

The Lozère department is divided into four regions, the differences between which are based on geological conditions and result in four natural landscapes:

  • the Margeride landscape : Located in the northeast of the department, it is a heavily forested granite landscape, the relief of which was created in the course of the early days. It used to belong to the county of Gévaudan and is characterized not only by forests but also by extensive pastures and heathland. The average altitude is between 1,000 and 1,500 m above sea level. d. The plateaus are littered with large granite blocks. The highest point is the Signal de Randon at 1,551 meters. In the past, the two reservoirs of Lac de Charpal and Lac de Naussac were created.
  • the Aubrac landscape : The Aubrac landscape is a sparsely forested, basaltic plateau in the north-west of the department, which is criss-crossed by rivers (including Bès , Rimeize ) and lakes (Lac de Salhens, Lac de Saint-Andéol, etc.). Parts of the landscape extend to the neighboring departments of Cantal in the north-west and Aveyron in the south-west. The highest point is the Signal de Mailhebiau at 1,469 m above sea level. d. M.
  • the Cevennes: The Cevennes, a foothill of the southern Massif Central , are located in the southeast of the Lozère department and are also part of the Gard and Haute-Loire departments. Geologically dominated by slate, the landscape of the Cevennes is shaped very unevenly by the course of the streams and rivers such as the Tarn and the Gardon . The most important peaks are the Mont Aigoual (1,567 m, Département Gard) and the Sommet de Finiels (1,699 m).
  • the landscape of Causse : The Grandes Causses are a limestone landscape that extends over far-reaching dry plateaus in the south-west of the department. The landscape is less high than the Aubrac, but with several elevations well over 1,000 m high it still belongs to the low mountain range. The Causses are dominated geographically by the Tarn Gorges. Numerous grottos and karst caves can be found in the Causses.

The Lozère department is considered to have the highest habitable settlement area.

coat of arms

Description : Split in blue and gold; in front with golden lilies and behind four red posts .

history

The department goes back to the law of December 22, 1789 and was created on March 4, 1790. The boundaries of the department coincide roughly with those of the diocese of Gévaudan (a subordinate of the province of Languedoc ), which is part of the province of Languedoc under the ancien régime has been. The department is known as the home of the cryptic beast of Gévaudan .

From 1960 to 2015 it belonged to the Languedoc-Roussillon region , which in 2016 became part of the Occitania region.

Population and administrative division

With 76,601 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), the Lozère department is the least populous department in France and one of the least populous areas of the European Union . With a population density of 15 inhabitants / km² it is also the most sparsely populated department in France with the exception of French Guiana . Since the 19th century, the population has fallen from 150,000 at that time to less than half, which can be explained by the strongly rural character, the inaccessible location of the department and the general phenomenon of rural exodus . Since the mid-1990s, however, there has been a slight upward trend, which is due in particular to the development of the region through modern transport routes (motorway, air traffic).

Arrondissements in the Lozère department

Population development:

1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1936 1954
150,768 135,527 128,866 122,738 108,822 101,859 98,480 82.391
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2009
81,868 77,258 74,825 74,294 72,825 73.509 77.163
Arrondissement Cantons Communities Residents
January 1, 2017
Area
km²
Density of
population / km²
Code
INSEE
Florac 4th 38 000000000013199.000000000013.199 1,687.65 000000000000008.00000000008th 481
Mende 11 114 000000000063402.000000000063,402 3,479.93 000000000000018.000000000018th 482
Lozère department 13 152 000000000076601.000000000076,601 5,167.58 000000000000015.000000000015th 48

See also:

Attractions

Castle in Florac on the banks of the Tarnon

A chalk plateau of the Cham des Bondons lies on Mont Lozère . There are over 150 menhirs scattered across the area .

Web links

Commons : Lozère department  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence


Coordinates: 44 ° 30 '  N , 3 ° 31'  E