Lot (department)

Lot
Department
Cahors - Préfecture du Lot
Prefecture building of the Lot department, in Cahors
Flag of Lot
Flag
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Location of Lot in France
Location of Lot in France
Coordinates: 44°33′32″N 01°34′35″E / 44.55889°N 1.57639°E / 44.55889; 1.57639
CountryFrance
RegionOccitanie
Département4 March 1790
PrefectureCahors
SubprefecturesFigeac, Gourdon
Government
 • PresidentSerge Rigal [1]
Area
[2]
 • Total5,216.5 km2 (2,014.1 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[3]
 • Total173,648
 • Density33/km2 (86/sq mi)
DemonymLotois
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-46
Arrondissements3
Cantons17
Communes326
Websitehttp://www.lot.fr

Lot (Occitan: Òlt) is a French department in the Occitanie region of southern France named after the Lot river. Its prefecture and largest city is Cahors.

History

Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the old province of Quercy.

The new department had six districts: Cahors, Martel, Gourdon, Figeac, Montauban and Lazorte. The capital (now prefecture) was Cahors.[4]

In 1808, some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban.[4]

Geography

Lot is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of 5,216.5 km2 (2,014.1 sq mi).[2]

The department borders with 6 other departments in 3 regions:

The Lot river crosses the department from east to west with numerous meanders. The Dordogne river flows through the northern part of the department.

There are seven natural regions in the department:[5]

  1. The Segala (northeast) occupies the eastern border of the Lot department. It is the part of the Massif Central that gets into the department and here is found the highest point of the Lot department in Labastide-du-Haut-Mont, with 783 m (2,569 ft) high.
  2. The Limargue (center east) separates the Segala from the Causses of Quercy. This narrow strip of land is found between the valleys of the Dordogne and Lot rivers. It is known as Terrefort around the city of Figeac.
  3. The Causses of Quency are several limestone plateaus crossed by the valleys of the Dordogne, Lot and Aveyron rivers. From north to south, they are the Causse of Martel, the Causse of Gramat and the Causse of Limogne.
  4. The Bouriane (west). This area is covered with an abundant vegetation and is very different from the near arid plateaus of the Causses.
  5. The Quercy Blanc (south) is formed by small white limestone plateaus along valleys where cereals, oilseeds (plants grown to produce vegetable oils), melons, plums and tobacco are grown.
  6. The Valley of the Lot river (south), with many vineyards and vegetable crops.
  7. The Valley of the Dordogne river (north), with its walnut groves and meadows.

Climate

The climate in Gourdon, in the north of the department at an altitude of 263 m (863 ft) above sea level, is an oceanic climate with relatively hot summers, mild winters and abundant rainfall, Cfb in the Köppen climate classification.[6]

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Gourdon is 856 mm (33.7 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is May with 88.9 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 55.9 mm (2.2 in). There are an average of 168.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in January with 17.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in July with 10.0 days.[6]

The average temperature for the year in Gourdon is 12.8 °C (55.0 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 5.2 °C (41.4 °F).[6]

Administration

The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Lot in Cahors. Lot is part of the Occitanie region.

Administrative divisions

There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 326 communes (municipalities) in Lot.[7]

INSEE
code		 Arrondissement Capital Population[8]
(2014)		 Area[9]
(km²)		 Density
(inh./km²)		 Communes
461 Cahors Cahors 76,216 2,179.3 35.0 129
462 Figeac Figeac 54,060 1,550.3 34.9 116
463 Gourdon Gourdon 43,372 1,486.9 29.2 81

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Lot department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[10]

  1. Cahors-1
  2. Cahors-2
  3. Cahors-3
  4. Causse et Bouriane
  5. Causse et Vallées
  6. Cère et Ségala
  7. Figeac-1
  8. Figeac-2
  9. Gourdon
  10. Gramat
  11. Lacapelle-Marival
  12. Luzech
  13. Marches du Sud-Quercy
  14. Martel
  15. Puy-l'Évêque
  16. Saint-Céré
  17. Souillac

Demographics

The inhabitants of Lot are known, in French, as Lotois (women: Lotoises).[11]

Lot has a population, in 2014, of 173,648,[3] for a population density of 33.3 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Cahors, with 76,216 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Figeac and Gourdon, have respectively 54,060 and 43,372 inhabitants.[8]

The city with more people living in it is the capital, Cahors (19,630). The subprefectures of Figeac and Gourdon have, respectively, 9,820 and 4,297 inhabitants.[8]

Evolution of the population in Lot

The cities in the department with more of 2,000 inhabitants are:

Célé river at Marcilhac
City Population
(2014)[8] 		Arrondissement
Cahors 19,630 Cahors
Figeac 9,820 Figeac
Gourdon 4,297 Gourdon
Gramat 3,611 Gourdon
Saint-Céré 3,503 Figeac
Pradines 3,433 Cahors
Souillac 3,366 Gourdon
Prayssac 2,499 Cahors
Biars-sur-Cère 2,033 Figeac
Puy-l'Évêque 2,020 Cahors

References

  1. ↑ "Le Département". Départment du Lot. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Département du Lot (46)". Publications et statistiques pour la France ou les régions (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Historique du Lot". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Jean, Guy Astruc. "Description des terroirs". Le Quercy sur le net. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Gourdon, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Département du Lot (46)" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "Département du Lot (46)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Décret n° 2014-154 du 13 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département du Lot" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Lot (46)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 18 May 2014.

Other websites

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