Puy-de-Dôme

**Puy-de-Dôme** is a French department in the centre of France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and named after the dormant volcano the **Puy de Dôme**. Its prefecture is the city of Clermont-Ferrand.

## History

Puy-de-Dôme was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. Puy-de-Dôme was formed with part of the old province of Auvergne.

It was divided in eight districts: Ambert, Besse, Billom, Clermont-Ferrand, Issoire, Montaigu, Riom and Thiers, with Clermont-Ferrand as is capital.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the eight districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Ambert, Clermont-Ferrand, Issoire, Riom and Thiers. On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of  Ambert was eliminated but, in 1942 Ambert became again an _arrondissement_ of the department.

## Geography

Puy-de-Dôme is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in east-central France, with an area of .

The department borders with 2 other departments in 2 regions:
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
    - Corrèze (west)
    - Creuse (west)
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
    - Allier (north)
    - Loire (east)
    - Haute-Loire (southeast)
    - Cantal (southwest)

The department is in the Massif Central and there are several mountain chains; some of the chains and mountains are:
- **Chaîne des Puys**, to the northwest of the department; here is the _Puy de Dôme_, a dormant volcano.
- **Monts Dore**, to the southwest of the department. Here is the highest mountain of the department and of the Massif Central: _Puy de Sancy_, an extinct volcano (); it is  high.
- **Monts du Forez**, to the east of the department
- **Livradois**, to the south.
- **Massif des Bois Noirs**, to the northeast.
- **Cézallier**, to the southwest.

### Climate

The climate of the Puy-de-Dôme department, in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, is an oceanic climate, **Cfb** (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average temperature for the year in Clermont-Ferrand, at an altitude of , 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 Clermont-Ferrand is . The month with the most precipitation on average is May with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is January with an average of .

## Administration

Puy-de-Dôme is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The department is managed by the _Departamental Council of the Puy-de-Dôme_ in Clermont-Ferrand.

### Administrative divisions

There are 5 _arrondissements_ (districts), 31 _cantons_ and 467 _communes_ (municipalities) in Puy-de-Dôme.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density (Inh./km²) !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|631|Ambert|Ambert|26,653|1,188.1||58|
|632|Clermont-Ferrand|Clermont-Ferrand|375,518|1,796.5||75|
|633|Issoire|Issoire|62,931|1,819.6||135|
|634|Riom|Riom|121,158|2,299.7||155|
|635|Thiers|Thiers|57,956|865.8||44|

The following is a list of the 31 cantons of the Puy-de-Dôme department (with their INSEE codes), in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Aigueperse <small>(6301)</small>
1. Ambert <small>(6302)</small>
1. Aubière <small>(6303)</small>
1. Beaumont <small>(6304)</small>
1. Billom <small>(6305)</small>
1. Brassac-les-Mines <small>(6306)</small>
1. Cébazat <small>(6307)</small>
1. Chamalières <small>(6308)</small>
1. Châtel-Guyon <small>(6309)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-1 <small>(6310)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-2 <small>(6311)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-3 <small>(6312)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-4 <small>(6313)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-5 <small>(6314)</small>
1. Clermont-Ferrand-6 <small>(6315)</small>
1. Cournon-d'Auvergne <small>(6316)</small>
1. Gerzat <small>(6317)</small>
1. Issoire <small>(6318)</small>
1. Lezoux <small>(6319)</small>
1. Maringues <small>(6320)</small>
1. Les Martres-de-Veyre <small>(6321)</small>
1. Les Monts du Livradois <small>(6322)</small>
1. Orcines <small>(6323)</small>
1. Pont-du-Château <small>(6324)</small>
1. Riom <small>(6325)</small>
1. Saint-Éloy-les-Mines <small>(6326)</small>
1. Saint-Georges-de-Mons <small>(6327)</small>
1. Saint-Ours <small>(6328)</small>
1. Le Sancy <small>(6329)</small>
1. Thiers <small>(6330)</small>
1. Vic-le-Comte <small>(6331)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Puy-de-Dôme are known, in French, as _Puydômois_ (women: _Puydômoises_).

Puy-de-Dôme has a population, in 2014, of 644,216, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Clermont-Ferrand, with 375,518 inhabitants, is by far the largest.

**Evolution of the population in Puy-de-Dôme**

The most important cities in the department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Clermont-Ferrand|141,365|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Cournon-d'Auvergne|19,515|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Riom|18,749|Riom|
|Chamalières|17,623|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Issoire|14,578|Issoire|
|Thiers|11,588|Thiers|
|Beaumont|11,060|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Pont-du-Château|10,655|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Gerzat|10,487|Clermont-Ferrand|
|Aubière|9,832|Clermont-Ferrand|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Puy-de-Dôme department
- Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department

## Other websites

- Departamental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Puy-de-Dôme
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: FR-63-Clermont-Ferrand10.JPG
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Puy-de-Dôme department, in Clermont-Ferrand
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Puy-de-Dôme department, in Clermont-Ferrand.
- **image flag**: Drapeau proposé pour le département Puy-de-Dôme.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Puy-de-Dôme.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Puy-de-Dôme-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Puy-de-Dôme in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Clermont-Ferrand
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Ambert
- **p2**: Issoire
- **p3**: Riom
- **p4**: Thiers, Puy-de-Dôme, Thiers
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Jean-Yves Gouttebe
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 7969.7
- **population total**: 644216
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Puydômois
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 5
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 31
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 467
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-63
- **website**: [http://www.puy-de-dome.fr/ http://www.puy-de-dome.fr/]