Lot (department)
| Lot | ||
|---|---|---|
| Department | ||
|
Prefecture building of the Lot department, in Cahors | ||
| ||
 Location of Lot in France | ||
| Coordinates: 44°35′N 01°35′E / 44.583°N 1.583°ECoordinates: 44°35′N 01°35′E / 44.583°N 1.583°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Occitanie | |
| Prefecture | Cahors | |
| Subprefectures |
Figeac Gourdon | |
| Government | ||
| • President of the General Council | Gérard Miquel | |
| Area1 | ||
| • Total | 5,217 km2 (2,014 sq mi) | |
| Population (2013) | ||
| • Total | 173,758 | |
| • Rank | 92nd | |
| • Density | 33/km2 (86/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Department number | 46 | |
| Arrondissements | 3 | |
| Cantons | 17 | |
| Communes | 326 | |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | ||
Lot (French pronunciation: [lɔt]; Occitan: Òlt) is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot River.
History
Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808 some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban.
Geography
Lot is part of the region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Corrèze, Cantal, Aveyron, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, and Dordogne.
Communes in Lot
For a full list, see Communes of the Lot department. Settlements in the Lot include:
- Cahors - The prefecture (capital) of the department, Cahors is a medieval cathedral town known internationally for its production of Cahors wine. It lies in a wide loop of the Lot River and is famous for its medieval bridge, the Pont Valentre.
- Figeac - a medieval town where Champollion, the first translator of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was born. Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department.
- Gourdon - a medieval hilltop town with a well preserved centre. There are many prehistoric painted caves nearby, notably the Grottes de Cougnac. Gourdon is also a sub-prefecture of te department.
Tourism
The Lot river
See also
Lot in popular culture
- French singer-songwriter Léo Ferré lived in the Lot for a while.
- At Home in France, by Ann Barry; a humorous account of owning a vacation cottage in Lot
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lot (département). |
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council website
- (English) hiking the Tour du Lot
- (French) CazalRando groupe de randonnée pédestre website
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.