Tarn (department)

**Tarn** () is a French department in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Tarn river.

Its prefecture and largest city is Albi.

## History

Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from a part of the old province of Languedoc.

The new department had five districts: Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals (now prefectures) were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres.

In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the _arrondissements_ were created; the department had four _arrondissements_: Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated.

## Geography

Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of .

The department borders with 5 departments, all in the Occitanie region:
- Hérault (southeast)
- Aude (south)
- Aveyron (north and east)
- Haute-Garonne (southwest and west)
- Tarn-et-Garonne (northwest)

While the valley of the Tarn river, the main river of the department, forms a plain, the central part  of the department has many hills. The main mountain ranges are the Monts de Lacaune, in the southeast, and the Montagne Noire in the south.

The **Monts de Lacaune** ("Mountains of Lacaune") mountain range is near the town of Lacaune; its highest point, and the highest of the Tarn department, is _Puech de Rascas_, (), at  above sea level.

The **Montagne Noire** (, "Black Mountain") is a mountain range in central southern France. It is at the southwestern end of the Massif Central in the border area of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore () at  high. The mountain is within the Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Parc ().

The main river in the department are the Tarn and its tributary, the Agout river.

### Climate

The climate of Albi is an oceanic climate with template summers, **Cfb** (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Albi 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 .

The average temperature for the year in Albi 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 .

## Administration

The department is managed by the _Departamental Council of the Tarn_ in Albi. Tarn is part of the region of Occitanie.

### Administrative divisions

There are 2 _arrondissements_ (districts), 23 _cantons_ and 320 _communes_ (municipalities) in Tarn.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population (2014) !! width=60px | Area (km²) !! Density (Inh./km²) !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|811|Albi|Albi|190,101|2,731.7||169|
|812|Castres|Castres|194,373|3,026.2||151|

The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the **Tarn** department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Albi-1 <small>(8101)</small>
1. Albi-2 <small>(8102)</small>
1. Albi-3 <small>(8103)</small>
1. Albi-4 <small>(8104)</small>
1. Carmaux-1 Le Ségala <small>(8105)</small>
1. Carmaux-2 Vallée du Cérou <small>(8106)</small>
1. Castres-1 <small>(8107)</small>
1. Castres-2 <small>(8108)</small>
1. Castres-3 <small>(8109)</small>
1. Les Deux Rives <small>(8110)</small>
1. Gaillac <small>(8111)</small>
1. Graulhet <small>(8112)</small>
1. Le Haut Dadou <small>(8113)</small>
1. Les Hautes Terres d'Oc <small>(8114)</small>
1. Lavaur Cocagne <small>(8115)</small>
1. Mazamet-1 <small>(8116)</small>
1. Mazamet-2 Vallée du Thoré <small>(8117)</small>
1. La Montagne noire <small>(8118)</small>
1. Le Pastel <small>(8119)</small>
1. Plaine de l'Agoût <small>(8120)</small>
1. Les Portes du Tarn <small>(8121)</small>
1. Saint-Juéry <small>(8122)</small>
1. Vignobles et Bastides <small>(8123)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Tarn are known, in French, as _Tarnais_ (women: _Tarnaises_).

Tarn has a population, in 2014, of 384,474, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Castres, with 194,373 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants. The _arrondissement_ of Albi has 190,101 inhabitants.

The city with more people living in it is the capital, Albi (49,531). The subprefecture of Castres has 41,382 inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Tarn**

The cities with more than 6,000 inhabitants in the department are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Albi|49,531|Albi|
|Castres|41,382|Castres|
|Gaillac|15,077|Albi|
|Graulhet|12,063|Castres|
|Lavaur|10,592|Castres|
|Mazamet|10,173|Castres|
|Carmaux|9,542|Albi|
|Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe|8,642|Castres|
|Saint-Juéry|6,792|Albi|
|Labruguière|6,478|Castres|
|Aussillon|6,121|Castres|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Tarn department
- Communes of the Tarn department

## Other websites

- General Council website
- Prefecture website
- Discover Tarn - Comité Départemental du Tourisme du Tarn

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Tarn
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: (Albi) Le Tarn vu du vieux pont vers l'ouest.jpg
- **image alt**: Part of the old city of Albi
- **image caption**: Old city and Tarn (river), Tarn river, Albi
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Tarn.svg
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Tarn.svg
- **image map**: Tarn-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Tarn in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Occitanie
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Albi
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefecture
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Castres, Tarn, Castres
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Christophe Ramond
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 5757.9
- **population total**: 384474
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Tarnais
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 2
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 23
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 320
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-81
- **website**: [http://www.tarn.fr http://www.tarn.fr]