Cantal
is a
French
department
in south-central
France
in the
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
region
. Its
prefecture
is
Aurillac
.
It is named after the
Mounts of Cantal
, a group of
mountains
in the
Massif Central
.
Cantal is one of the 83 French departments made during the
French revolution
, on 4 March 1790. It was created with part of the territory of the old province of
Auvergne
in south central France. It was divided in four
districts
: Aurillac, Mauriac, Murat and Saint-Flour; its
capital
in Saint-Flour, alternating with Aurillac.
[3]
In 1794, Saint-Flour became the only capital but, in 1795, the capital was moved to Aurillac.
In 1800, with the creation of the
arrondissements
in France, the districts were changed into
arrondissements
: Aurillac, Mauriac, Murat and Saint-Flour. On 10 September 1926, the
arrondissement
of Murat was eliminated.
[3]
Cantal is part of the
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
region
, in south central France, with an area of 5,726 km
2
(2,211 sq mi).
The department borders with 3 regions and 7 other departments:
[3]
Cantal is in the middle half of the central
plateau
(
Massif Central
) of France where is the
Mounts of Cantal
mountain range
, a group of extinct
volcanoes
. The highest point in the Cantal mountains, and in the department is
Plomb du Cantal
(
45°3′33″N
2°45′41″E
/
45.05917°N 2.76139°E
/
45.05917; 2.76139
(
Plomb du Cantal
)
) that is 1,855 m (6,086 ft) high.
[4]
Other high mountains near Plomb du Cantal in the Cantal department are:
The lowest point of the department, 250 m (820 ft), is in the
valley
of the
Lot
river where it leaves the department.
The main
rivers
are the
Alagnon
, a
tributary
to the
Allier
; the
Cele
and
Truyere
rivers,
tributaries
to the
Lot
river; and the
Cere
and
Rhue
rivers, tributaries to the
Dordogne
river.
The climate of Cantal has with few extremes of temperature and ample
precipitation
in all months. It belongs to the subtype
Cfb
(Marine West Coast Climate) in the
Koppen climate classification
.
The average temperature for the year in Aurillac, at an
altitude
of 633 m (2,077 ft), is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 2.9 °C (37.2 °F).
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Aurillac is 856 mm (33.7 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 109.2 mm (4.3 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is June with an average of 45.7 mm (1.8 in).
[5]
Cantal is part of the region of
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
. The department is managed by the
Departamental Council of the Cantal
in
Aurillac
.
There are 3
arrondissements
(
districts
), 15
cantons
and 255
communes
(
municipalities
) in Cantal.
The following is a list of the 15
cantons
of the Cantal
department
(with their
INSEE codes
),
[6]
following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
[7]
The inhabitants of Cantal are known, in
French
, as
Cantaliens
(women:
Cantaliennes
) or
Cantalous
(women:
Cantalouses
).
[8]
Cantal has a population, in 2014, of 146,618,
[2]
for a population density of 25.6 inhabitants/km
2
. The
arrondissement
of Aurillac, with 82,347 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Saint-Flour and Mauriac, have respectively 38,079 and 26,192 inhabitants.
[6]
The city with more people living in it is the
capital
,
Aurillac
(26,135). The subprefectures of
Saint-Flour
and
Mauriac
have, respectively, 6,643 and 3,682 inhabitants.
[6]
Evolution of the population in Cantal
The 10 most important cities in the department are:
City
|
Population
[6]
(2014)
|
Arrondissement
|
Aurillac
|
26,135
|
Aurillac
|
Saint-Flour
|
6,643
|
Saint-Flour
|
Arpajon-sur-Cere
|
6,233
|
Aurillac
|
Ytrac
|
4,121
|
Aurillac
|
Mauriac
|
3,682
|
Mauriac
|
Riom-es-Montagnes
|
2,661
|
Mauriac
|
Maurs
|
2,170
|
Aurillac
|
Jussac
|
2,010
|
Aurillac
|
Naucelles
|
1,942
|
Aurillac
|
Vic-sur-Cere
|
1,917
|
Aurillac
|
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Cantal
.