Haute-Garonne

The department of the Haute-Garonne (31) ( Auta Garona in Occitan) is a French Département located in the south of the France. Its chief town is the Ville of Toulouse.

History

See also: History of the Haute-Garonne, History of the Midday-Pyrenees

The department was created with the French revolution, on March 4th, 1790 pursuant to the law of the December 22nd 1789, starting from part of the province of Languedoc. It was vaster than now because it included part of the Tarn-et-Garonne with Montech and Castelsarrasin. They was the courses of the Tarn and the Tescou which drew its limit.

Policy

See also: Political of the Haute-Garonne

  • Intercommunalités of the Haute-Garonne

  • List of the deputies of the Haute-Garonne
  • List of the senators of the Haute-Garonne
  • List of the general advisers of the Haute-Garonne
  • List of the prefects of the Haute-Garonne
  • Cantons of the Haute-Garonne

Geography

General information

The Haute-Garonne belongs to the area the Midday-Pyrenees. The department does not constitute a historical area of France. It is a formed administrative division of various pieces of the Languedoc and Gascogne.

The department is crossed by the higher course of the river the Garonne which gives him its name. Contours of the department follow the orientation of the river. The Fleuve enters to France to Fos, then passes to Montréjeau, near Saint-Gaudens and in the center of Toulouse, before leaving the department. The Garonne crosses the department over a length close to 200 kilometers. Of is in west, the Canal of the South and the side Canal in the Garonne crosses the department of the Haute-Garonne. The Garonne course the department while crossing three distinct geographical areas. a mountainous region in the south of the department belongs to the Pyrenean Massif. The Peak of Perdiguère (3222 m) being more the high summit of the Haute-Garonne. a first plain , more to north, extends from Montréjeau until Saint-Martory, where the Garonne runs out bordered in south-east by the slopes of the Comminges. the large Toulouse plain , after St-Martory, extends on all north from the department. With Toulouse, the plain is bordered in the west by the hills of the Lomagne, in the east by the slopes of Saint-Felix-Lauragais.

Administrative

The department is bordering on the following departments:

It consists of three districts: Toulouse, Low wall and Saint-Gaudens. These three districts gather 53 cantons. The district of Toulouse east that which has more cantons with 31 same cantons them divided into 226 communes. The district of Low wall is composed of 11 same cantons them divided into 126 communes. Lastly, the district of Saint-Gaudens contains 11 cantons and 236 communes.

The Haute-Garonne is divided into 588 very heterogeneous communes. The south has many rural communes while north close to Toulouse is primarily made up very urbanized communes even urbanized.

Landscape

In the west, the countries of the Gascogne and Lomagne are (in Gascogne also) while in the east is the country of the Volvestre and of the Lauragais. The landscape consists of soft hills and slopes resulting from old plates.

The the Pyrenees remain always visible towards the south of the department like a natural barrier. This assembly line, long in the department, 22 km is the culminating point of the department. Many peaks rise with more than 3.000 Mr. the Pic of Perdiguère to 3.222 m is the culminating point of the department. This area of mountain is called the Luchonnais and contains several valleys like that of Oô.

The Forêt primarily of Feuillu S occupies most of the department. The mountain zone is made up as a majority of Hêtre S while the plain and Piedmont are dominated by the Chêne and the Peuplier. The great forest units are localized in Montagne while wood, thickets and forests occupy the plain. The Forêt of Bouconne is the vastest forest of the plain extending on 2.000 hectares in the west from Toulouse. In the north of Toulouse another important forest is, that of Buzet, extending on 1.000 hectares. Wooded spaces of poplars and Saule S skirt the Garonne and ensure a river ecosystem lodging of many animal species and vegetable. This settlement ensures also the fixing of the banks of the river.

Climate

See also: Climate of the Haute-Garonne

The climate of the Haute-Garonne is a moderate Climat with the ic influences Océan and the Mediterranean with Hiver S moderated in the plain and more cold in the south, as well as the strong heats the be in the plain followed by very sunny Automne S. Springs are on the other hand rainy.

The climate is also marked by the Vent of southerly wind in the Toulouse plain.

Economy

The economy of the Haute-Garonne rests on the aircraft industry and space, after having made important agricultural great strides thanks to corn and with the pastel.

Industry

Industry in Haute-Garonne is mainly centered around the Toulousain pole, with like spearhead aeronautics and space. One finds there in particular certain assembly lines of Airbus of which that of the A380, of important sites of EADS in the space field, CNES, other manufacturers like ATR. The Toulousaine agglomeration will also shelter the Cancéropôle of Toulouse, which will join together industrial public pharmacy and researchers in a single unit.

Agriculture

August 1st

Tertiary sector

Freight

In the north of the Toulouse agglomeration (Castelnau-with Estrétefonds) is Eurocentre, a multimode pole of 300 hectares located at 19km, that is to say 15mn by highway, of the airport platform of Toulouse-Blagnac. By combining rail-road-highway, this platform is one of the very first logistic poles of Europe of the South by its size and the quality of its installations.

Eurocentre gathers with more than eighty companies of a road center heavy trucks, a railway beam of reception entirely automated, of a direct entry of complete trains, of a rental housing stock GEMFI of 4 × 30.000 m ² of buildings, of a center of life (hotels, restaurant, station, etc) and Shipping Terminal of Toulouse: new dry port of the harbor authority of Barcelona on 20 hectares. Indeed, the Shipping Terminal of Toulouse (TMT) is a new concept of inner harbor aiming at facilitating the international maritime trade. It is also a strategic initiative of the Wearing of Barcelona whose objective is to make so that the port is present permanently on this market. This initiative offers to the contractors south of France more than 300 regular maritime lines passing to Barcelona and which link almost all the economic regions of the world. It will be composed of 82.000 m ² of logistic warehouses, 4.200 m ² of offices, 64.000 m ² of carpark and 34.000 m ² dedicated to the TMT.

Demography

The inhabitants of the Haute-Garonne are the Haut-Garonnais . The prefecture and principal Ville of the department is Toulouse , located at the center of the most populated part department. The South of the department is less populated and is also known under the name of Comminges. More than one million people populates the Haute-Garonne with the last census in 1999. The share of the young people is rather important with 55% less than 40 years and among them 16% have between 20 and 29 years. That is explained by the fact why Toulouse is large a regional Métropole and a university pole.

More the big cities are:

The pattern of the settlement of the Haute-Garonne is very contrasted. The north of the department which contains the urban Aire of Toulouse gathers 70% of the population. She attracts more and more world and the périurbaines communes are repopulated. The Toulouse suburbs believe more and more causing an important dispersed habitat. The whole of the urban surface of Toulouse, consisted of the suburbs and the crown périurbaine, gathers 255 communes reaching the limits of the department in north, is and the west. This movement of periurbanisation is also observed in Saint-Gaudens, the second pole urban of the department.

Culture

See also: Culture in Haute-Garonne

Tourism

The department of the Haute-Garonne is mountainous in its southernmost part, and conceals some beautiful landscapes.

Excursion

The department offers a multitude of way of Randonnée, in particular in mountain with famous the GR. 10 which through the chain of the Pyrenees. Another way is HRP or the path of High Pyrenean Excursion which penetrates in Haute-Garonne by the collar of the Gourgs-White.

Speleology

The underground grid of the Haute-Garonne is very wide and complex. It is made up many caves and pits whose discoveries were made by Edouard-Alfred Martel and Norbert Casteret. The most important pit is that of the Henne Morte with a 446 meters depth. It belongs to the one of the largest French networks, that of Felix Trombe, which traverses the solid mass of the Cagire, of Paloumère and the Arbas.

But the Haute-Garonne is also rich many parietal caves of Pyrenean rupestral art as the Grotte of Aurignac which gave its name to the period aurignacian. In the same way, the Grotte of the Curtains to Lespugue discovered in 1922 is the place of discovered Venus de Lespugue , a statue going back to 21.000 front J. - C. the Grotte of Montespan is also very rich with rupestral scenes and statues of clay animals. One finds also paintings paleolithic in the Grotte of Marsoulas.

Winter sports

The department has 4 ski stations:

See too

Related articles

External bonds

  • Prefecture of Haute-Garonne

  • General advice of Haute-Garonne

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