Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the

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 language, 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 ...

, located near the

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 10,0 ...

, bounded to the northeast by

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 ...

, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by 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 ...

, 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 (fren ...

. It is named after

Mont Lozère Mont Lozère ( oc, Mont Losera) is the highest peak in the Cévennes, a subrange of the Massif Central in France. It is above sea level and lies within the Cévennes National Park. Mont Lozère is commonly used for skiing during the winter mon ...

. 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 considere ...

, when the whole of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 ou ...

. 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 approximately ...

. Pliny's Natural History 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 Deus Nemausus is often said to have been the Celtic patron god of Nemausus (Nîmes). The god does not seem to have been worshipped outside this locality. The city certainly derives its name from Nemausus, which was perhaps the sacred wood in which ...

, and more especially the areaPliny's term is ''pagus'', a Latin equivalent of ''

pays In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a law known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation ...

''. 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, a creature believed to be a wolf, terrorized the general area in the

Margeride Margeride (in Auvergnat ) is a mountainous region of France, situated in the Massif Central, inside the ''départements'' of Cantal, Haute-Loire and Lozère. Location In Cantal, its western boundary is the Truyère, and its eastern boundary, i ...

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

and is surrounded by five departments belonging to two

regions 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 Ardèche departments of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and Gard and

departments of the

region. The geography of Lozère is complicated, covering four mountain ranges. In the north-west, the basalt plateau of

Aubrac Aubrac is a small village in the southern Massif Central of France. The name is also applied to the surrounding countryside, which is properly called L'Aubrac in French. The Aubrac region has been a member of the Natura 2000 network since August 20 ...

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 The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaus (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin (région), Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river ...

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 whe ...

plateaus in the south-west, and the south-east contains the

Cévennes The Cévennes ( , ; oc, Cevenas) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the ''départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geogra ...

, which include the highest point in the department, the granite

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 The Gorges du Tarn ( oc, Gòrjas de Tarn) is a canyon formed by the Tarn (river) between the Causse Méjean and the Causse de Sauveterre, in southern France. The canyon, mainly located in the Lozère ''département'', and partially in the Aveyro ...

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 stro ...

. The inhabitants of Lozère are known, in French, 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 in Mende. , the President of the council is Sophie Pantel. Lozère is part of the 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 A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

and 152

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

in Lozère. The following is a list of the 13

of the Lozère department (with their

INSEE code The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) to identify various entities, including communes and '' départements''. They are also used as national identificati ...

s), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015: # Bourgs sur Colagne (4803) # La Canourgue (4802) # Le Collet-de-Dèze (4804) #

Florac Trois Rivières Florac Trois Rivières (, literally 'Florac Three Rivers'; oc, Florac-Tres-Rius) 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 Florac and La Sal ...

(4805) # Grandrieu (4806) #

Langogne Langogne (; oc, Lengònha) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Located on the antique Regordane way, the Paris–Nimes railway line and the road RN 88 (Lyon–Toulouse), the city has long been a commercial crossroad betw ...

(4807) #

Marvejols Marvejols (; oc, Maruèjols), is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Marvejolais''. Geography The commune is located in the Massif central. The Colagne flows southward through the middle of t ...

(4808) # Mende-1 (4809) # Mende-2 (4810) # Peyre en Aubrac (4801) #

Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole (; oc, Sent Auban) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. It is situated in the northern parts of the Lozère department. See also *Communes of the Lozère department The following is a list of ...

(4811) #

Saint-Chély-d'Apcher Saint-Chély-d'Apcher (; oc, Sanch Ale dels Apchièrs) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. History Its inhabitants are called Barrabans. This name was allotted to the inhabitants of Saint-Chély-d'Apcher during the Hund ...

(4812) # Saint-Étienne-du-Valdonnez (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

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 t ...

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 Fra ...

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

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 i ...

and a variety of sports, such as

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

ing and kayaking. 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-salmoni ...

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 inclu ...

. Rivers such as the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

, Tarn and

Truyère The Truyère () is a river in south-western France, right tributary of the Lot. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, north of Mende. It flows generally west through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Lozère: Le Malzieu ...

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

File:Sainte Enimie une place.jpg,

Sainte-Enimie Sainte-Enimie (; oc, Santa Enimia) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gorges du Tarn Causses. It was founded in the 7th century by Énimie, who started a co ...

, one of the most beautiful villages of France File:Cevennes National Park, France.jpg,

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