region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Gard, to the west by

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants of ...

, and the northwest by

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians ( ...

. It is named after Mont Lozère. With 76,604 inhabitants as of 2019,Populations légales 2019: 48 Lozère
INSEE Lozère is the least populous French department.

History

Lozère was created in 1790 during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, when the whole of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

was divided into departments, replacing the old

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. Lozère was formed from part of the old province of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximatel ...

.

Pliny's Natural History The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

praised the cheese of Lozère: :The kinds of cheese that are most esteemed at Rome, where the various good things of all nations are to be judged of by comparison, are those that come from the provinces of Nemausus, and more especially the areaPliny's term is ''pagus'', a Latin equivalent of '' pays''. there of Lesura and Gabalis (Lozère and Gévaudan); but its excellence is only very short-lived, and it must be eaten while it is fresh. During the period 1764–67, the

Beast of Gévaudan The Beast of Gévaudan (french: La Bête du Gévaudan, ; oc, La Bèstia de Gavaudan) is the historic name associated with a man-eating animal or animals that terrorised the former province of Gévaudan (consisting of the modern-day department o ...

, a creature believed to be a wolf, terrorized the general area in the Margeride Mountains of the former province of

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the c ...

(nearly identical with the modern Lozère department).

Geography

Lozère has an area of . It is the northernmost department of the current

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and is surrounded by five

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

belonging to two regions:

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians ( ...

,

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

and

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and Gard and

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants of ...

departments of the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region. The geography of Lozère is complicated, covering four mountain ranges. In the north-west, the basalt plateau of Aubrac rises between , with a cold humid climate influenced by the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The north and north-east of the department contains the Margeride mountains, which are formed of granite, and have peaks between . The climate here is also cold, but drier than in Aubrac, with less snow. The Causses are a series of very dry

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

plateaus in the south-west, and the south-east contains the Cévennes, which include the highest point in the department, the granite Mont Lozère at . The department also contains numerous rivers, above and below ground, including the Tarn, whose source is on Mont Lozère, and which flows through the Gorges du Tarn in the Causses.

Demographics

Population development since 1801: Lozère is a least populated French department. It has a population, in 2019, of 76,604, for a population density of inhabitants/km². The department boasts a population similar in size to that of the country

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none ( Latin)"United virtue is str ...

. The inhabitants of Lozère are known, in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, as ''Lozériens'' and ''Lozériennes''.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Mende, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 3 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:

Administration

The département is managed by the

Departmental Council of Lozère The Departmental Council of Lozère (, ) is the deliberative assembly of the department of Lozère in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie. It consists of 26 members (''general councilors'') from 13 cantons and its headquarter ...

in Mende. , the President of the council is Sophie Pantel. Lozère is part of the region of

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

.

Administrative divisions

There are 2

arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'' ...

, 13 cantons and 152 communes in Lozère. The following is a list of the 13 cantons of the Lozère department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015: #

Bourgs sur Colagne Bourgs sur Colagne () is a commune in the department of Lozère, southern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Le Monastier-Pin-Moriès and Chirac.La Canourgue (4802) #

Le Collet-de-Dèze Le Collet-de-Dèze (; oc, Lo Colet de Dèsa) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of the 152 communes of the Lozère department of France ...

(4804) # Florac Trois Rivières (4805) #

Grandrieu Grandrieu (; oc, Grandriu) is a village and commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Geography The Chapeauroux forms parts of the commune's north-eastern border. See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list ...

(4806) # Langogne (4807) #

Marvejols Marvejols (; oc, Maruèjols), is a Communes of France, commune in the Lozère Departments of France, department in southern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Marvejolais''. Geography The commune is located in the Massif central. The Colag ...

(4808) # Mende-1 (4809) # Mende-2 (4810) #

Peyre en Aubrac Peyre en Aubrac ( oc, Peire en Aubrac) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Lozère, southern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Aumont-Aubrac (the ...

(4801) # Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole (4811) # Saint-Chély-d'Apcher (4812) #

Saint-Étienne-du-Valdonnez Saint-Étienne-du-Valdonnez (; oc, Sent Estève) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Demographics See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of the 152 communes of the Lozère department ...

(4813)

Economy

The main activities are cattle farming and tourism. There is barely any arable farming in Lozère due to poor soil quality. The hardy Aubrac is the most commonly farmed cattle breed here. The region has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in France, which may be attributed to the enforced long-standing tradition whereby young people emigrate to cities such as

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

,

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, Montpellier when they reach working age.

Land use

Lozère is a rural department, with relatively little land taken up by roads and buildings. Overall the land use is divided as follows: * Forest 43.81% * Heath & other open land 31.19% * Arable land 12.74% * Fields 11.36% * Roads and buildings 0.54% * Rivers and ponds 0.3

Politics

Current National Assembly Representative

Tourism

Tourist activities include

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology ...

and a variety of sports, such as skiing and

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...

ing. Lozère contains a part of the Cévennes National Park. Lozère is considered one of the best areas in France for

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

. Rivers such as the Lot, Tarn and Truyère are particularly noted for their trout populations. File:Mende-cathedrale-1.JPG, Mende File:France Lozere Marvejols Eglise Notre Dame de la Carce.jpg, Church of

Marvejols Marvejols (; oc, Maruèjols), is a Communes of France, commune in the Lozère Departments of France, department in southern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Marvejolais''. Geography The commune is located in the Massif central. The Colag ...

File:Sainte Enimie une place.jpg, Sainte-Enimie, one of the most beautiful villages of France File:Cevennes National Park, France.jpg, Cévennes National Park

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Departmental Council of Lozère

Prefecture website

Comité Départemental du Tourisme en Lozère
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lozere 1790 establishments in France Departments of Occitania (administrative region) Massif Central States and territories established in 1790