Yonne

**Yonne** is a department in the centre of France, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. The largest city in the department, and its prefecture (capital), is Auxerre.

The department is named after the Yonne river, a tributary of the Seine, that flows through the department. The Celts name of the river was _Ica-onna_ () and from this name come the name of the river and of the people living in the department: _Icaunais_.

## History

During Roman times, the main city in the territory of the present department was Sens, the capital of one Roman province.

Yonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Auxerre as its capital. It was formed from combined parts of the old provinces of _Burgundy_, _Champagne_ and _Île-de-France_.

It was divided in seven districts: Auxerre, Sens, Joigny, Saint-Fargeau, Avallon, Tonnerre and Saint-Florentin.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the seven districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Auxerre, Avallon, Joigny, Sens and Tonnerre. On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Joigny and Tonnerre were eliminated.

## Geography

Yonne is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It has an area of . The highest point of the department is Bois de la Pérouse (),  high.

The department borders with five departments in four regions:
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
    - Côte-d'Or (east)
    - Nièvre (south)
- Grand Est region
    - Aube (northeast)
- Centre-Val de Loire region
    - Loiret (west)
- Île-de-France region
    - Seine-et-Marne (northwest)

The northern part of the department is formed by plains that are part of the great plain of Paris. The mountains of the _Morvan_ and the hills of the _Auxerrois_ (the region around the city of Auxerre) are in the southern half of the department.

The main river in the department is the Yonne, a tributary of the Seine river that flows through the department from south to north. Other rivers that flow through the department are the Armançon, Loing, Ouanne and Serein rivers.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Auxerre is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".

The average temperature for the year in Auxerre 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 Auxerre is . The month with the most precipitation on average is December with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is April with an average of .

## Administration

Yonne is managed by the _Departmental Council of Yonne_ in Auxerre. The department is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 21 _cantons_ and 428 _communes_ (municipalities) in Yonne.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! width=60px | Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|891|Auxerre|Auxerre|179,922|3,514.6||171|
|892|Avallon|Avallon|47,594|2,209.2||139|
|893|Sens|Sens|114,298|1,703.6||118|

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Yonne department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Auxerre-1 <small>(8901)</small>
1. Auxerre-2 <small>(8902)</small>
1. Auxerre-3 <small>(8903)</small>
1. Auxerre-4 <small>(8904)</small>
1. Avallon <small>(8905)</small>
1. Brienon-sur-Armançon <small>(8906)</small>
1. Chablis <small>(8907)</small>
1. Charny <small>(8908)</small>
1. Cœur de Puisaye <small>(8909)</small>
1. Gâtinais en Bourgogne <small>(8910)</small>
1. Joigny <small>(8911)</small>
1. Joux-la-Ville <small>(8912)</small>
1. Migennes <small>(8913)</small>
1. Pont-sur-Yonne <small>(8914)</small>
1. Saint-Florentin <small>(8915)</small>
1. Sens-1 <small>(8916)</small>
1. Sens-2 <small>(8917)</small>
1. Thorigny-sur-Oreuse <small>(8918)</small>
1. Tonnerrois <small>(8919)</small>
1. Villeneuve-sur-Yonne <small>(8920)</small>
1. Vincelles <small>(8921)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Yonne are known, in French, as _Icaunais_ (women: _Icaunaises_).

Yonne had a population, in 2014, of 341,814, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Auxerre, with 179,922 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Yonne**

The cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants in the department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Auxerre|34,843|Auxerre|
|Sens|25,507|Sens|
|Joigny|9,672|Auxerre|
|Avallon|7,025|Avallon|
|Migennes|7,019|Auxerre|
|Villeneuve-sur-Yonne|5,352|Sens|
|Charny Orée de Puisaye|5,145|Auxerre|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Yonne department
- Communes of the Yonne department

## Other websites

- General Council website
- Prefecture website
- Wild flowers of Yonne

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Yonne
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: FR-89-Auxerre12.JPG
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Yonne department, in Auxerre
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Yonne department, in Auxerre.
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Yonne.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Yonne.svg
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Yonne-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Yonne in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Auxerre
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Avallon
- **p2**: Sens
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: André Villiers
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 7427.4
- **population total**: 341814
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Icaunais
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 21
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 428
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-89
- **website**: [http://www.cg89.fr/ www.cg89.fr]