Lot (; �l is a department in the Occitanie

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Named after the Lot River, it lies in the southwestern part of the country and had a population of 174,094 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 46 Lot
INSEE Its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

; its subprefectures are

Figeac Figeac (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Lot (department), Lot. Figeac is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis ...

and Gourdon.

History

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

Quercy Quercy (; , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auverg ...

. In 1808 some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...

. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

Geography

Lot is part of the region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of

Corrèze Corrèze (; ) is a département in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, on the bo ...

Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

. It is named after the river Lot, which in its Occitan name is ''Olt''.

is the prefecture of the department, lying in its southwestern part: a medieval cathedral town known internationally for its production of

Cahors wine Cahors () is a red wine made from grapes grown in or around the town of Cahors in the Lot (department) , Lot department of southern France. Cahors is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) (Controlled designation of origin) associated ...

, it lies in a wide loop of the Lot River and is famous for its 14th-century bridge, the

Pont Valentré The Pont Valentré () (; ) is a 14th-century six-span fortified Rock (geology), stone arch bridge crossing the river Lot (river), Lot to the west of Cahors, in France. It has become a symbol of the city. After the decision was made to build it on ...

is a medieval town where

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure ...

, the first translator of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was born, situated in the eastern part of Lot. Gourdon, a medieval hilltop town located in Lot's northwestern part, with a well preserved centre, comprises many prehistoric painted caves nearby, notably the Grottes de Cougnac.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are seven communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The inhabitants of Lot are called ' and in French. Population development since 1801:

Politics

Departmental Council of Lot

The Departmental Council of Lot has 34 seats. Since the 2015 departmental elections, 30 are controlled by the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS) and its allies; four are controlled by the

miscellaneous right Miscellaneous right (', ''DVD'') in France refers to centre-right or right-wing candidates who are not members of any large party. This can include members of small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their party for running against thei ...

. Since 2014, the President of the Departmental Council has been Serge Rigal, currently a member of

La République En Marche! Renaissance (RE) is a political party in France that is typically described as liberal and centrist or centre-right. The party was originally known as (EM) and later (, LREM, LaREM or REM), before adopting its current name in September 2022 ...

(REM).

Members of the National Assembly

Lot elected the following members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

during the 2024 legislative election:

Senators

Lot is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Angèle Préville (since 2017) and Jean-Claude Requier (since 2011).

Tourism

File:Cahors - place François-Mitterrand -313.jpg,

File:Bave River in Saint-Cere 03.jpg, Saint-Céré File:The high located church of St.-Cirque-Lapopie and deep down the Lot river at 8 September 2015 - panoramio.jpg, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie File:Buildings in Gourdon.jpg, Gourdon File:LesCierges.JPG, Grottes de Presque File:Lot Plage aux ptérosaures 7 traces Dimitri.jpg, Fossil

pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

footprints, Pterosaur Beach.

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
*
hiking the Tour du Lot
*
CazalRando groupe de randonnée pédestre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lot (Department) Massif Central 1790 establishments in France Departments of Occitania (administrative region) States and territories established in 1790