Tarn (department)

Tarn (department)
Tarn
—  Department  —

Coat of arms
Location of Tarn in France
Coordinates: 43°49′N 02°12′E / 43.817°N 2.2°E / 43.817; 2.2Coordinates: 43°49′N 02°12′E / 43.817°N 2.2°E / 43.817; 2.2
Country France
Region Midi-Pyrénées
Prefecture Albi
Subprefectures Castres
Government
 – President of the General Council Thierry Carcenac
Area1
 – Total 5,758 km2 (2,223.2 sq mi)
Population (2007)
 – Total 369,501
 – Rank 65th
 – Density 64.2/km2 (166.2/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 81
Arrondissements 2
Cantons 46
Communes 324
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Tarn (Occitan: Tarn) is a department of 5,758 km2 in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France, named after the Tarn River. It was formed in 1790 of the three dioceses of Albi, Castres and Lavaur, belonging to the province of Languedoc. In 1906, the population was 330,533. In 1999, it stood at 343,402.

Of particular note in the department are Albi (the capital), Castres, Gaillac, Lavaur, Mazamet and Cordes.

Other places of interest are:


Contents

History

Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, through application of the Law of 22 December 1789. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc, and comprised the dioceses of Albi and Castres (which found themselves merged in 1817).

By the law of 28 Pluviôse, Year 5, the departments of Hérault and of Tarn exchanged the canton of Anglès (which had been part of the diocese of Saint-Pons, but which has remained in Tarn) for that of Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare (which had been part of the diocese of Castres, but which today remains in Hérault ).

Landscapes

Tarn's three principal ranges lying to the south-east are: the Mountains of Lacaune, the Sidobre, and the Montagne Noire, belonging to the Cevennes. The stony and wind-blown slopes of the firstnamed are used for pasture. The highest point of the range and of the department is the Pic de Montalet (about 4150 ft.); several other summits are not much short of this. The granite strewn plateaux of the Sidobre, from 1600 to 2000 ft high, separate the valley of the river Agout from that of its western tributary, the river Thoré. The Montagne Noire, on the southern border of the department, derives its name from the forests on its northern slope, and some of its peaks are from 3000 to 3500 ft high.

The limestone and sandstone foot-hills are clothed with vines and fruit trees, and are broken by deep alluvial valleys of particular fertility. With the exception of a small portion of the Montagne Noire, which drains into the river Aude, the whole department belongs to the basin of the Garonne. The eastern portion of the department has the climate of Auvergne, the severest in France, but that of the plain is Girondin.

Tarn is bounded north and east by Aveyron, southeast by Hérault, south by Aude, southwest and west by Haute-Garonne, northwest by Tarn-et-Garonne. The slope of the department is from east to west, and its general character is mountainous or hilly.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

See also

References

External links


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  • Arrondissements of the Tarn department — The 2 arrondissements of the Tarn department are: # Arrondissement of Albi, (prefecture of the Tarn department: Albi) with 23 cantons and 170 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 162,749 in 1990, and was 164,990 in 1999, an increase …   Wikipedia

  • Cantons of the Tarn department — The following is a list of the 46 cantons of the Tarn department, in France, sorted by arrondissement:Arrondissement of Albi (23 cantons)* Alban * Albi Centre * Albi Est * Albi Nord Est * Albi Nord Ouest * Albi Ouest * Albi Sud * Cadalen *… …   Wikipedia

  • Communes of the Tarn department — The following is a list of the 324 communes of the Tarn département in France. (CAC) Communauté d agglomération de Castres Mazamet, created in 2000. (CAA) Communauté d agglomération de l Albigeois, created in 2003. INSEE code Postal code Commune …   Wikipedia

  • Tarn — may refer to:;Geography and places: * Tarn (lake), a mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier * Tarn (department), a département in southwest France * Tarn River, a river in France * Tarn oil field, an oil field in Alaska * …   Wikipedia

  • Tarn-et-Garonne — Infobox Department of France department=Tarn et Garonne|number=82 region=Midi Pyrénées prefecture=Montauban subprefectures=Castelsarrasin population=206,034|pop date=1999|pop rank=86th|density=55 area=3718|area scale=9… …   Wikipedia

  • Tarn Light Railway — Heritage Railway name = Tarn Light Railway caption = 030T COUILLET locale = France terminus = Saint Lieux lès Lavaur linename = Chemin de Fer Touristique du Tarn builtby = Compagnie des chemins de fer à voie étroite et tramways à vapeur du Tarn… …   Wikipedia

  • Tarn — /tannrddn/, n. a department in S France. 338,024; 2232 sq. mi. (5780 sq. km). Cap.: Albi. * * *       a small mountain lake, especially one set in a glaciated steep walled amphitheatre known as a cirque (q.v.). * * * …   Universalium

  • Tarn-et-Garonne — /tannrdd nay gann rddawn /, n. a department in S France. 183,314; 1440 sq. mi. (3730 sq. km). Cap.: Montauban. * * * …   Universalium

  • Tarn — /tan/ (say tahn) noun a department in southern France. 5778 km2. Capital: Albi …  

  • Tarn-et-Garonne — /tan eɪ gaˈrɒn/ (say tahn ay gah ron) noun a department in southern France. 3729 km2. Capital: Montauban …  

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