Aisne is a department in the north of France, in the Hauts-de-France region. It is named after the Aisne river, a tributary of the Oise. Its prefecture is Laon.
Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Laon as is capital. It was formed from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France (Laon, Soissons, Noyon,and Valois), Picardy (Thiérache Vermandois), and Champagne (Brie and Omois).
It was divided in six districts: Château-Thierry, Chauny, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the six districts were changed into five "arrondissements": Château-Thierry, Laon, Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Vervins.
On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissement" of Château-Thierry was eliminated but in 1942 it was made again an "arrondissement".
Aisne is part of the Hauts-de-France region. It has an area of .
The department borders with Belgium and 6 other departments in 3 regions:
The territory of the Aisne department is formed by low plateaus and small hills. The highest point in the department, and in the Hauts-de-France region, is "Le Chêne Nain" () in the Ardennes forest on the border with the Ardennes department and near the border with Belgium; it is high.
The southern part of the department is the geographical region known as "la Brie poilleuse", a more dry plateau known for its dairy products and Brie cheese.
Several rivers flow through the department; the main rivers are the Scheldt/Escaut, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, and the Serre.
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Laon is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Laon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is July with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is March with an average of .
In Laon, there is an average of of snow. The month with the most snow is February, with of snow.
The average temperature for the year in Laon is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .
Aisne is managed by the "Departmental Council of Aisne" in Laon. The department is part of the Hauts-de-France region.
There are 5 "arrondissements" (districts), 21 "cantons" and 804 "communes" (municipalities) in Aisne.
The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Aisne department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The inhabitants of Aisne are known, in French, as "Axonais" (women: "Axonaises"), from the Celtic name of the Aisne river, "Axona".
Aisne had a population, in 2014, of 539,783, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Laon, with 165,489 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Aisne
The 10 "communes" in the department with more inhabitants are:
Allier
Allier is a department in the centre of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is named after the river Allier, a tributary of the Loire. Its prefecture is Moulins.
Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Moulins as its capital. It was formed from most of all the former province of "Bourbonnais" (the Duchy of Bourbonnais); Saint-Amand-Montrond, in the Cher department, was the only part of the old province that was not made part of Allier.
It was divided in seven districts: Cérilly, Moulins, Le Donjon, Cusset, Gannat, Montmarault and Montluçon.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the seven districts were changed into four "arrondissements": Moulins, Gannat, Lapalisse and Montluçon.
On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissement" of Gannat was eliminated and in 1941 Vichy became the capital of one "arrondissement" of the department instead of Lapalisse.
In 1940, during World War II, the city of Vichy was the capital of Vichy France.
Allier is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of .
It is long from east to west and wide from north to south.
The department borders with 6 other departments in 4 regions:
There are four main geographical zones in the department:
The main rivers in the department are:
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Nevers is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".
There are two periods of maximum precipitation in June and October and a minimum in January and February with average of Montluçon (altitude: 207 m), in Moulins (245 m) in Vichy (251 m); and in Lapalisse (285 m).
Allier is managed by the "Departmental Council of Allier" in Moulins. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
There are 3 "arrondissements" (districts), 19 "cantons" and 317 "communes" (municipalities) in Allier.
The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Allier department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
There is not a traditional demonym to name the inhabitants of the Allier department. Some names used are "Alliérins", "Bourbonnais", "Elavérins", or simply "habitants de l'Allier" ("inhabitants of Allier").
Of these names, the most used is "Bourbonnais" followed by "habitants de l'Allier".
Allier had a population, in 2014, of 343,062, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Vichy, with 122,267 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Allier
The 10 "communes" in the department with more inhabitants are:
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence () is a department in the south of France, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its prefecture is Digne-les-Bains.
Until 1970, the department was named as "Basses-Alpes".
The department of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, with the name of "Nord-de-Provence" was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 but soon its name was changed to "Haute-Provence" and then to "Basses-Alpes".
It was divided in five districts: Barcelonnette, Castellane, Digne, Forcalquier and Sisteron. with Digne as its capital.
On 12 August 1793, the department of Vaucluse was created from parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes. Basses-Alpes lost the canton of Sault of Vaucluse. Seventeen years later, in 1810, the canton of Barcillonnette was transferred over to Hautes-Alpes.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the five districts were changed into five "arrondissements": Barcelonnette, Castellane, Digne, Forcalquier and Sisteron.
On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissements" of Castellane and Sisteron were eliminated and in 1942 Castellane was made again an arrondissement of the department.
During World War II, the department was occupied by the fascist Italy.
The name of the capital, Digne, was changed to Digne-les-Bains in 1988 and on 13 April 1970 the department of Basses-Alpes was renamed Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It has an area of .
The department is surrounded by Italy and five departments in two regions:
The highest point is "Aiguille de Chambeyron" (), in the "commune" of Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, to the northeast of the Ubaye valley; it is . Other high mountains in the department are "Brec de Chambeyron" (), "Pics de la Font Sancte" (), "Grand Bérard", () and "Tête de Siguret" ().
The main river in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is the Durance, a tributary of the Rhône river and that flows through the west of the department. Its main tributaries are the Bléone and Verdon.
The Var river flows through the eastern part of the department.