Puéchabon (; , ) is a
commune in the
Hérault
Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...
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 ...
in
Southern France
Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
.
Geography

The commune borders
Causse-de-la-Selle to the north,
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert ( or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Situated where the Gellone rive ...
to the north and west,
Aniane
Aniane (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
Population
See also
* Abbey of Aniane
* Benedict of Aniane
* Chronicle of Aniane
* Pont du Diable, Hérault
* Mas de Daumas Gassac
*Communes ...
to the south, and
La Boissière to the southeast.
Climate
In 2010, the climate of the commune is classified as a
frank Mediterranean climate, according to a study based on a dataset covering the
1971-2000 period.
In 2020,
Météo-France
Météo-France is the official French meteorological administration, also offering services to Andorra and Monaco. It has the powers of the state and can exercise them in relation to meteorology. Météo-France is in charge of observing, study ...
published a typology of
climates in mainland France in which the commune is exposed to a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
and is part of the
Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon climatic region, characterized by low rainfall in summer, very good sunshine (2,600 h/year), a hot summer , very dry air in summer, dry conditions in all seasons, strong winds (with a frequency of 40 to 50% for winds > 5 m/s), and little fog.
For the 1971-2000 period, the average annual temperature was with an annual
atmospheric temperature
Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including insolation, incoming solar radiation, humidity, and altitude. The abbreviation MAAT is often used for Mean ...
of . The average annual total rainfall during this period was 931 mm, with 6.9 days of precipitation in January and 3.1 days in July.
For the subsequent period of 1991 to 2020, the average annual temperature observed at the nearest weather station, located in the commune of
Saint-André-de-Sangonis
Saint-André-de-Sangonis (''Sant Andrieu de Sangònis'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region
in southern France.
Geography
Located from Montpellier, Saint-André-de-Sangonis is nestled in the Hérault ...
, away
as the crow flies
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points.
Etymology
The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'' (1838):
...
, is , and the average annual total rainfall is 652.4 mm.
For the future, climate parameters for the commune projected for 2050, based on different
greenhouse gas emission
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
scenario
In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and actio ...
s, can be consulted on a dedicated website published by Météo-France in November 2022.
Urbanism
Typology
As of January 1, 2024, Puéchabon is classified as a ''‘commune rurale à habitat dispersé’'' (rural commune with dispersed settlement) according to the new seven-level commune density grid established by
Insee in 2022.
The commune is located outside of any urban unit.
Additionally, Puéchabon belongs to the
Montpellier attraction area, where it is designated as a commuter town.
[The concept of a functional area replaced the former concept of an ]urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
in October 2020, enabling consistent comparisons with other European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
countries. This area, encompassing 161 communes, falls under the category of areas with 700,000 inhabitants or more (excluding Paris).
Land Use
The land use in the commune, as recorded in the
European
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
biophysical
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. B ...
land use
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
,
Corine Land Cover (CLC), is characterized by a high proportion of forests and semi-natural habitats, accounting 90.8 % in 2018, an approximately equivalent proportion compared to that of 1990, 91.2%. The detailed distribution in 2018 was as follows: shrub and/or herbaceous vegetation environments (67.4%), forests (20.3%), permanent crops (7%), open spaces, with little or no vegetation (3.1%), urban areas (1.1%), heterogeneous agricultural areas (1.1%).
Changes in the commune’s land use and infrastructure can be observed on various cartographic representations of the area: the
Cassini map
The Cassini Map or Academy's Map is the first topographic and geometric map made of the Kingdom of France as a whole. It was compiled by the Cassini family, mainly César-François Cassini (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Cas ...
(18th century), the ''
military topographic map'' (1820–1866), and
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
maps or aerial photographs from 1950 to the present day.
Population
In 2022, the commune had a population of 507.
See also
*
Communes of the Hérault department
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
Notes and references
Notes and maps
Notes
Maps
References
Insee website
Other Sources
Communes of Hérault
{{Hérault-geo-stub