The Lévézou is a geographical region in the

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 o ...

department in southern

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 ...

. It is an impervious

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

plateau with an average altitude of around 900m. Its highest point is Mont Seigne (1 128 m). Though its borders are not strictly defined, it is bounded in the south and east by the River Tarn and to the north by the

Viaur The Viaur () is a river in south-western France. It is a left tributary of the Aveyron. Its source is in the southern Massif Central, north of Millau. It flows generally west through the following departments and towns: * Aveyron: Pont-de-Salars ...

. To the west it merges into the

Ségala The Ségala (; oc, Segalar) is a geographical region that straddles the border between the departments of Aveyron and Tarn, in the Occitanie region of southern France. It is known as the land of a hundred valleys- and traditionally grew the grai ...

Etymology

Lévézou is the French form of the Occitan word ''Leveson''- which derives from the root words ''eve'' (waters) and ''on'' (source of) so literally means the source of waters. From this location, the noble family the ''Lévézou de Vezins'' derived their name. Their coat of arms has been adopted as a symbol for the region.

Geography

Topography

Geology

Communication

Communes within the Lévézou

* - - = historic and rural Lévézou * - * - = communes around

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

* - ** - = communes shared with

* - *** - = communes between Lévézou and the Raspes du Tarn or la Muse

Hydroelectric generation

The Tarn was dammed at Pinet and Jourdanie in 1929, and a third dam was added at Le Truel in 1959, and these were all used for run of the river power stations. Between 1948 and 1952, the major rivers on the plateau were dammed; and by means of pumping stations and pipelines their waters were directed through the new reservoir at Villefranche-de-Panat where it dropped down to massive turbines at Le Pouget. * Lac de Pont-de-Salars, sur le

; *

Lac de Bage Lac de Bage is a lake in Aveyron, 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 ...

, sur le Bage ; *

Lac de Pareloup Lac de Pareloup (; oc, link=no, Lac de Paralop; en, Pareloup Lake) is a lake in Aveyron, France. It lies on the Lévézou plateau, 25 km south east of Rodez. Description At an elevation of 805 m, its surface area is 12.6 km². The imp ...

sur le Vioulou ; *

Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat () is a lake in Aveyron, France. At an elevation of 727 m, its surface area is 1.92 km². It lies in the communes of Villefranche-de-Panat and Alrance. Description The Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat is part of an ...

on the

Alrance Alrance (; oc, Alrança) is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region of southern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Alrançais'' or ''Alrançaises'' Geography Alrance is located some 30 km west of Mil ...

; *

Lac de Saint-Amans Lac de Saint-Amans is an artificial lake in Le Truel, Aveyron, France close to Villefranche-de-Panat, and 500m above the Tarn. At an elevation of 727 m, it has surface area of 0.11 km². It is captured by the Barrage de Saint-Amans. It is a h ...

* barrage du

Céor The Céor () is a long river in the Aveyron department in southern France. Its source is at Salles-Curan, southwest of the ''lac de Pareloup''. It flows generally west-southwest. It is a left tributary of the Viaur, into which it flows at Saint ...

at Arvieu ;

Wind farms

The Lévézou has embraced wind energy and by April 2009 the following wind farms were in place: * 6 Wind turbines at Viarouge de Ségur ; * 29 Wind turbines at

Salles-Curan Salles-Curan (; oc, Las Salas) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Geography The ''lac de Pareloup'' forms part of the commune's northern border. The river Céor has its source in the western part of the commune. P ...

; * 6 Wind turbines at

Canet-de-Salars Canet-de-Salars (; oc, Canet) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aveyron department The following is a list of the 285 Communes of France, communes of the Aveyron Departments ...

; * 13 Wind turbines at Castelnau-Pégayrols ; * 5 Wind turbines at Lestrade-et-Thouels ; * 8 Wind turbines at Ayssènes. éoliennes du Levezou 2

Rural economy

References

*Material taken from :fr:Lévézou Landforms of Aveyron Plateaus of Metropolitan France {{Aveyron-geo-stub