Dordogne

Dordogne () is a department in the southwest of France. It is named after the Dordogne river that runs through the department.

The department is in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is between the valley of the Loire river and the Pyrenees. Its prefecture (capital) is Périgueux.

History
Dordogne was formed during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with parts of the old province of Périgord. It was divided into nine districts: Belvès, Bergerac, Excideuil, Montignac, Montpon, Nontron, Périgueux, Ribérac and Sarlat.

Bergerac, Périgueux and Sarlat-la-Canéda were alternatively the capital of the department but later it was decided that only Périgueux would be the capital.

Geography
Dordogne is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is the third largest department of Metropolitan France, after Gironde and Landes. It has an area of .

The department is bordered by seven departments in two regions:
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
 Charente
 Charente-Maritime
 Corrèze
 Gironde
 Lot-et-Garonne
 Haute-Vienne
 Occitanie region
 Lot

The main river in the department is the Dordogne that gives its name to the department. It runs from east to west through the department. Other rivers are the Isle and the Vézère, both tributaries of the Dordogne.

The highest point in the department is the southwestern summit of the Forêt de Vieillecour (), in northwestern Massif Central near the border with the Haute-Vienne department, with an altitude of . The lowest point is in the valley of the Dordogne river and is  high.

Administration
Dordogne is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is managed by the Departamental Council of Dordogne in Périgueux.

Administrative divisions
There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 25 cantons and 520 communes (municipalities) in Dordogne.

 INSEEcode  Arrondissement  Capital  Population(2014)  Area(km²)  Density(Inh./km²)  Communes 241  Bergerac  Bergerac  111,875  2,182.0    133 242  Nontron  Nontron  40,508  1,621.0    100 243  Périgueux  Périgueux  189,301  3,336.5    146 244  Sarlat-la-Canéda  Sarlat-la-Canéda  74,666  1,920.6    141

The following is a list of the 25 cantons of the Dordogne department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

 Bergerac-1 (2401)
 Bergerac-2 (2402)
 Brantôme (2403)
 Coulounieix-Chamiers (2404)
 Le Haut-Périgord Noir (2405)
 Isle-Loue-Auvézère (2406)
 Isle-Manoire (2407)
 Lalinde (2408)
 Montpon-Ménestérol (2409)
 Pays de la Force (2410)
 Pays de Montaigne et Gurson (2411)
 Périgord Central (2412)
 Périgord Vert Nontronnais (2413)
 Périgueux-1 (2414)
 Périgueux-2 (2415)
 Ribérac (2416)
 Saint-Astier (2417)
 Sarlat-la-Canéda (2418)
 Sud-Bergeracois (2419)
 Terrasson-Lavilledieu (2420)
 Thiviers (2421)
 Trélissac (2422)
 Vallée Dordogne (2423)
 Vallée de l'Isle (2424)
 Vallée de l'Homme (2425)

Demographics
The inhabitants of Dordogne are known, in French, as Dordognais (women: Dordognaises). They are also known as Périgordins or Périgoudins.

in 2014, the department of Dordogne had a population of 416,350, for a population density of  inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Périgueux, with 189,301 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other three, Bergerac, Nontron and Sarlat-la-Canéda, have respectively 111,875, 40,508 and 74,666 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Dordogne

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

 City  Population(2014) Arrondissement Périgueux  30,069  Périgueux Bergerac  27,764  Bergerac Boulazac Isle Manoire  9,823  Périgueux Sarlat-la-Canéda  9,127  Sarlat-la-Canéda Coulounieix-Chamiers  8,089  Périgueux Trélissac  6,732  Périgueux Terrasson-Lavilledieu  6,186  Sarlat-la-Canéda Saint-Astier  5,521  Périgueux Montpon-Ménestérol  5,480  Périgueux

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Dordogne department
 Communes of the Dordogne department

References

Other websites

 Departamental Council of Dordogne 
 Prefecture official website  
 Comité Départamental du Tourisme de la Dordogne