Cantal

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-Rhône-Alpes region, in south central France, with an area of 5,726 km² (2,211 sq mi).

The department borders with 3 regions and 7 other departments:[3]

• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
  • Puy-de-Dôme (north)
  • Haute-Loire (northeast)
• Occitanie region
  • Aveyron (south)
  • Lot (southwest)
  • Lozère (southeast)
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
  • Corrèze (west)

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) that is 1,855 m (6,086 ft) high.[4] Other high mountains near Plomb du Cantal in the Cantal department are:

• Puy du Rocher (45°4′N 2°46′E), 1,813 m (5,948 ft) high;
• Puy de Peyre Arse (45°6′37″N 2°42′39″E), 1,806 m (5,925 ft) high; and
• Puy Mary (45°6′34″N 2°40′34″E), 1,783 m (5,850 ft) high.

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 Célé and Truyère rivers, tributaries to the Lot river; and the Cère and Rhue rivers, tributaries to the Dordogne river.

Cantal is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Cantal in Aurillac.

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/km². 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:

• Arrondissements of the Cantal department
• Communes of the Cantal department

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cantal.

• Departamental Council website (in French)
• Prefecture website Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine (in French)