Puy-de-Dôme

Puy-de-Dome is a French department in the centre of France in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region and named after the dormant volcano the Puy de Dome. Its prefecture is the city of Clermont-Ferrand.
History
Puy-de-Dome was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. Puy-de-Dome 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-Dome is part of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, in east-central France, with an area of .
The department borders with 2 other departments in 2 regions:
Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
Correze (west)
Creuse (west)
Auvergne-Rhone-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:
Chaine des Puys, to the northwest of the department; here is the Puy de Dome, 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.
Cezallier, to the southwest.
Climate
The climate of the Puy-de-Dome department, in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, is an oceanic climate, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Koppen 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-Dome is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Puy-de-Dome in Clermont-Ferrand.
Administrative divisions
There are 5 arrondissements (districts), 31 cantons and 467 communes (municipalities) in Puy-de-Dome.
The following is a list of the 31 cantons of the Puy-de-Dome department (with their INSEE codes), in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Aigueperse (6301)
Ambert (6302)
Aubiere (6303)
Beaumont (6304)
Billom (6305)
Brassac-les-Mines (6306)
Cebazat (6307)
Chamalieres (6308)
Chatel-Guyon (6309)
Clermont-Ferrand-1 (6310)
Clermont-Ferrand-2 (6311)
Clermont-Ferrand-3 (6312)
Clermont-Ferrand-4 (6313)
Clermont-Ferrand-5 (6314)
Clermont-Ferrand-6 (6315)
Cournon-d'Auvergne (6316)
Gerzat (6317)
Issoire (6318)
Lezoux (6319)
Maringues (6320)
Les Martres-de-Veyre (6321)
Les Monts du Livradois (6322)
Orcines (6323)
Pont-du-Chateau (6324)
Riom (6325)
Saint-Eloy-les-Mines (6326)
Saint-Georges-de-Mons (6327)
Saint-Ours (6328)
Le Sancy (6329)
Thiers (6330)
Vic-le-Comte (6331)
Demographics
The inhabitants of Puy-de-Dome are known, in French, as Puydomois (women: Puydomoises).
Puy-de-Dome has a population, in 2014, of 644,216, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Clermont-Ferrand, with 375,518 inhabitants, is by far the largest.