Along with neighbouring Lozère andCreuse, Cantal is among the most sparsely populated and geographically isolated departments of France and Aurillac is the departmental capital farthest removed from a major motorway. It had a population of 144,692 in 2019,[3] making it the country's 98th most populated department. Of the 96 metropolitan departments, it is the fifth least populated.
The department is named for thePlomb du Cantal, the central peak of the bare and ruggedmounts of Cantal (French:Monts du Cantal) mountain chain which traverses the area.[4]
Cantal lies in the middle of France's central plateau.[5] The Cantal range is a group of extinct and eroded volcanic peaks. Its highest point is thePlomb du Cantal, which reaches an elevation of 1,858 meters (6,096 ft).[6] Its neighbors arePuy Mary (elev. 1,787 meters or 5,863 feet) andPuy Chavaroche (elev. 5,722 feet or 1,744 meters). To their north lie theCézallier andDore ranges and the arid Artense Plateau. Immediately to their east is the fertile Planèze Plateau, bound on its east by theMonts de la Margeride.[5]
The principal rivers are theAlagnon, which is a tributary to theAllier; theCelle andTruyère, tributary to theLot; and theCère andRhue, tributary to theDordogne.[4] At an elevation of 250 meters (820 ft) above sea level, the low point of the province lies in theLot valley.[citation needed] The Truyère valley skirts the Planèze on the south and divides it from theMonts d'Aubrac, whose foothills include the thermal springs ofChaudes-Aigues. The western area of the department consists of grassy plateaus and river valleys.[5]
Generally, the weather is mild and dry in thealluvial plain betweenMurat and Saint-Flour and around Aurillac, while summer storms and winters can be long and severe in the northern and central areas.[4] The west—nearer precipitation coming in from theAtlantic—is well watered.[citation needed] There is abundant snowfall which can remain up to six months on the mountaintops. Winter temperatures can fall to below −15 °C (5 °F), whereas in summer 25 °C (77 °F) is often reached. The southern part of the department, on its borders withAveyron andLot, is the hottest region. Aurillac averaged 2080 hours of sunlight per year over the period from 1991 to 2000. Fog is rare and disappears quickly. Wind is usually not very strong, but the lightning flashes in this department are among the most spectacular in France.
Televised French weather forecasts often note Aurillac as the coldest city in France in the mornings. This status should be understood in light of their derivation from temperature readings byMétéo-France. Of the 30 cities included on its maps, Aurillac is by far the one with the highest altitude, at 640 m (2,100 ft) above sea level.
After the 1790Constitution Civile du Clergé, theDiocese of Saint-Flour in Cantal (whose bishop refused to swear the oath required by theCivil Constitution of the Clergy, constituting aschism from Rome) was among the almost half of the French sees being abolished to realign the new bishoprics to coincide with the new departments, such as Cantal, where outsider parish priest Anne-Alexandre-Marie Thibault was elected Bishop. It was formally abolished in turn after the NapoleonicConcordat of 1801 (Thibault refusing to resign) and replaced by the reinstated bishopric of Saint Flour, which however retained the departmental borders of Cantal.
The climate being generally too cool and damp for grain, much of Cantal is given over topasture forAubrac andSalers cattle, sheep, and, formerly, horses. This in turn supports a dairy industry responsible for butter and Roquefort cheese[4] and theappellation-controlled cheesesCantal,Salers, andBleu d'Auvergne. Cantal is the French department with the greatest number of appellation-controlled cheeses,[7] although proper Roquefort is now restricted to cheese produced in theAveyron department. The region's mineral products include coal, copper, lead, iron,antimony,granite,slate[4] andlime,[5] but the department's isolation and poor infrastructure long precluded their exploitation.[4] Before theFirst World War, the primary exports were livestock, cheese, butter, and coal and the main imports were coal, wine, grain, flour, and pottery. By then, it had been connected to both theOrleans andMidirailways.[5]
Traditionally, many Cantalians roamed France during the year plying humble trades[4][5] but now the area's relative lack of industry and development permits tourism. An area has been set aside as the Auvergne Volcanos Regional Park (Parc Regional des Volcans d’Auvergne).
The official population count for 2019 was 144,692.[3] It peaked at 262,117 in 1836, and has been below 200,000 since the First World War. Like many of the country's rural departments, Cantal experienced a marked decrease in population throughout the twentieth century as agricultural wages failed to keep pace with those available in the industrialising regions. The department falls within the band of low-density population known as theempty diagonal.
The department counts several remarkable buildings. Among them, the Romanesque religious buildings like the churches ofCheylade (eleventh century), Dieno or Massiac.[citation needed] The area'sCatholic cathedral—dependent on thearchdiocese of Bourges—is the 15th-century St Pierre de St-Flour,[5] erected in theGothic style.
The characteristic folk dance in Cantal isLa Bourrée. In the countryside it would be danced in folk costumes with accompaniment by accordion. The dance form was long ago adapted for use in courtly music and features prominently in theBaroquedance suites of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Prominent museums in Cantal include:
Museum of Art and Arqueologia,Aurillac (34,100 visitors/year)
The traditional articles of Cantalian cuisine were rye, buckwheat, and chestnuts,[4] as well as ham, cheese, and vegetables. The area's simple recipes were designed to satisfy hill farmers and herders. Notable dishes include:[citation needed]
Aligot (also inAveyron): Creamed potatoes, cheese (freshtomme), butter, fresh cream and a little garlic.
Truffade: Potatoes in slices with cheese (fresh tomme) and a little garlic.
Pounti: A cake made with dough of wheat black flour, herbs, lard, prunes and Swiss chard.
The typical cheeseCantal, which can be chosen young, old or "entre-deux".
In the 19th century, the hills and valleys abounded with game and the streams with fish, the countryside producing a "vast variety" of aromatic and medicinal plants.[4]
At present, the most visited places arePuy Mary, the Plomb du Cantal, the village ofSalers, and the gorges of the Truyère (with theGarabit viaduct, the castle ofAlleuze, and the towns ofBoisset,Pierrefort). TheParc Naturel des Volcans d’Auvergne features several inactive volcanoes. Cantal also has numerous castles. Puy Mary can be accessed by car easily, and is accessible to hikers. It is also possible to hike to the nearbyPuy de Peyre-Arse (1806 m).Le Lioran or Super-Lioran are the best places to start the hike.Le Lioran is accessible by rail or bus and Super-Lioran is just a kilometre away fromLe Lioran. From Super-Lioran it is also possible to hike to Plomb du Cantal. There is also an option of taking the cable car to Plomb du Cantal from Super-Lioran. Super-Lioran tourist office has various hike routes in the region.[10] There are also various adventure courses, dirt bikes, summer luges etc. that run in Super-Lioran.
Among the various activities offered in this department, the "Massif Cantalien" can be discovered through walking, horseback riding or mountain biking excursions (tracks are especially designed for this). Aquatic sports are also common, due to numerous lakes. The department also offers activities such as mountaineering, canoeing and fishing. The landscape also allows the practice of free flight:base jumpers frequent the sector around the Puy Mary and the Brezon valley.[citation needed]
Thanks to its terrain, Cantal can count on a good snow level, which allows winter sports. The station ofLe Lioran, largest ski-resort of the Massif Central offers alpine skiing (with specific adaptations for snowboard) and ice-skating. Excursions in snow shoes are also possible. The department has several hundred kilometres of cross-country skiing tracks.
This staunchlyCatholic department is an old stronghold of the French Right and was the electoral base of the lateGeorges Pompidou. Only the area aroundAurillac, historicallyanti-clerical andRadical, has some left-wing support.
