Gers is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the old provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
The new department had six districts: Auch, Lectoure, Condom, Nogaro, L'Isle-Jourdain and Mirande. The capital (now prefecture) was Auch.
in 1808, part of the Gers department was transferred to the new Tarn-et-Garonne department'.
Gers is known for its hilly landscape and bastide villages. The Pyrenees are visible to the south.
Gers is part of the Occitanie region, and is the 34th French department in area with .
The department is surrounded by six departments in two regions:
The main rivers of the department are the Garonne and the Gers, a left tributary of the Garonne. Other rivers are Save, Gimone, Arrats, Baïse and Osse.
The highest point in the department is "Mont de Chapelle Saint Roch" (), in west central Pyrénées near the border with the Hautes-Pyrénées department, with an altitude of .
The climate of Gers is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.
The annual rainfall in the department varies from over in the southwest of the department, to less than in the northeast (Auch, Condom and Lectoure).
Summers are very hot and dry, the temperatures often exceed . Winters vary, often with frost, but the climate remains mild and dry.
The department is managed by the "Departamental Council of the Gers" in Auch. Gers is part of the region of Occitanie.
There are 3 "arrondissements" (districts), 17 "cantons" and 462 "communes" (municipalities) in Gers.
The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Gers department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The inhabitants of Gers are known, in French, as "Gersois" (women: "Gersoises").
Gers has a population, in 2014, of 190,625, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Auch, with 87,118 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Condom and Mirande, have respectively 65,562 and 37,945 inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Gers
The 10 most important cities in the department are:
The economy in Gers revolves primarily around agriculture and culinary tourism. The department is a producer of maize, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower.
Some well-known products of the region are:
Gironde
Gironde () is a department in the southwest of France. It is named after the Gironde estuary.
The department is in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Its prefecture is Bordeaux.
Gironde was formed during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with parts of the old provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
From July 1793 to April 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the Girondists, a French revolutionary group.
The department was divided into seven districts: Bordeaux, Libourne, La Réole, Bazas, Cadillac, Blaye and Lesparre. Its capital was the city of Bordeaux.
Gironde is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, southwestern France, and is the largest department of Metropolitan France with an area of .
There four main zones in the Gironde; they are:
The department is bordered by the departments: Charente-Maritime, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne and Landes. The Atlantic Ocean ("Gulf of Biscay") is to the west of the department.
The main rivers in the department are the Dordogne and the Garonne rivers; the two rivers form, after their confluence, the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary of France.
The climate in Bordeaux is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.
The average temperature for the year in Bordeaux 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 .
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Bordeaux is . The month with the most precipitation on average is November with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of .
Gironde is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is managed by the "Departmental Council of Gironde" in Bordeaux.
There are 6 "arrondissements" (districts), 33 "cantons" and 538 "communes" (municipalities) in Gironde.
The following is a list of the 33 cantons of the Gironde department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The inhabitants of Gironde are known, in French, as "Girondins" (women: "Girondines").
The department of Gironde has a population, in 2014, of 1,526,016, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Bordeaux, with 921,668 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The "arrondissements" of Blaye and Lesparre-Médoc are those with less people, with 88,115 and 86,560 inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Gironde
The main cities in the department are:
Hérault
Hérault () is a department in the region of Occitanie in southern France. It is named after the Hérault river.
The inhabitants of Hérault are known, in French, as "Héraultais" (women: "Héraultaises").
Hérault was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. Aude was formed with part of the old province of Languedoc.
It was divided in four districts: Montpellier, Béziers, Lodève and Saint-Pons, with Montpellier as is capital.
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the four districts were changed into four "arrondissements". On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissements" of Lodève and Saint-Pons were eliminated but on 1 June 1942 Lodève became again an "arrondissement".
Hérault has an area of . It is surrounded by the departments of Aude, Aveyron, Tarn, and Gard, with the Gulf of Lion (Mediterranean Sea) to the east and southeast.
The main rivers in the department are the Orb and the Hérault which gives its name to the department.
The climate in Montpellier, in the northeast of the department near the Mediterranean coast, is a Mediterranean climate, a "dry-summer subtropical" climate, Csa in the Köppen climate classification.
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Montpellier is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of . There are an average of 73.4 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in December with 9.2 days and the least precipitation occurring in July with 2.3 days.
The average temperature for the year in Montpellier 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 .
The département is managed by the "Departamental Council of the Hérault" in Montpellier. Hérault is part of the region of Occitanie.
There are 3 "arrondissements" (districts), 25 "cantons" and 343 "communes" (municipalities) in Hérault.
The following is a list of the 25 cantons of the Hérault department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
The Hérault department has a population, in 2014, of 1,107,398, for a population density of inhabitants/km. The "arrondissement" of Montpellier, with 700,241 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two "arrondissements", Béziers and Lodève, have respectively 312,443 and 94,714 inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Hérault
The "communes" in the department with more of 10,000 inhabitants are:
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine is a department found in the west of France in the Brittany region. Its prefecture is Rennes and its population is about 908,000 (2006 estimation). It is one of the 83 first French departments made during the French revolution.
Indre-et-Loire