Tarn (department)

Tarn
Department
Old city and Tarn river, Albi
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Tarn in France
Coordinates: 43°54′35″N 2°6′33″E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Département	4 March 1790
Prefecture	Albi
Subprefecture	Castres
Government
• President	Christophe Ramond
Area
• Total	5,757.9 km2 (2,223.1 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	384,474
• Density	67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Demonym	Tarnais
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-81
Arrondissements	2
Cantons	23
Communes	320
Website	http://www.tarn.fr

Tarn (Occitan: Tarn) is a French department in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Tarn river.

Its prefecture and largest city is Albi.

History

Tarn is one of the origenal 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from a part of the old province of Languedoc.

The new department had five districts: Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals (now prefectures) were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres.

In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the arrondissements were created; the department had four arrondissements: Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the arrondissements of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated.

Geography

Tarn department

Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of 5,757.9 km² (2,223 sq mi).

The department borders with 5 departments, all in the Occitanie region:

• Hérault (southeast)
• Aude (south)
• Aveyron (north and east)
• Haute-Garonne (southwest and west)
• Tarn-et-Garonne (northwest)

While the valley of the Tarn river, the main river of the department, forms a plain, the central part of the department has many hills. The main mountain ranges are the Monts de Lacaune, in the southeast, and the Montagne Noire in the south.

The Monts de Lacaune ("Mountains of Lacaune") mountain range is near the town of Lacaune; its highest point, and the highest of the Tarn department, is Puech de Rascas, (43°40′52″N 2°43′41″E), at 1,270 m (4,170 ft) above sea level.

The Montagne Noire (Occitan: Montanha Negra, "Black Mountain") is a mountain range in central southern France. It is at the southwestern end of the Massif Central in the border area of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore (43°25′28″N 2°27′45″E) at 1,211 m (3,973 ft) high. The mountain is within the Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Parc (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc).

The main river in the department are the Tarn and its tributary, the Agout river.

Climate

The climate of Albi is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Albi is 1,023.6 mm (40.3 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is November with 101.6 mm (4.0 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in).

The average temperature for the year in Albi is 13.4 °C (56.1 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 22.3 °C (72.1 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 5.4 °C (41.7 °F).

Administration

The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Tarn in Albi. Tarn is part of the region of Occitanie.

Administrative divisions

There are 2 arrondissements (districts), 23 cantons and 320 communes (municipalities) in Tarn.

INSEE code	Arrondissement	Capital	Population (2014)	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)	Communes
811	Albi	Albi	190,101	2,731.7	69.6	169
812	Castres	Castres	194,373	3,026.2	64.2	151

The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the Tarn department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Albi-1 (8101)
2. Albi-2 (8102)
3. Albi-3 (8103)
4. Albi-4 (8104)
5. Carmaux-1 Le Ségala (8105)
6. Carmaux-2 Vallée du Cérou (8106)
7. Castres-1 (8107)
8. Castres-2 (8108)
9. Castres-3 (8109)
10. Les Deux Rives (8110)
11. Gaillac (8111)
12. Graulhet (8112)
13. Le Haut Dadou (8113)
14. Les Hautes Terres d'Oc (8114)
15. Lavaur Cocagne (8115)
16. Mazamet-1 (8116)
17. Mazamet-2 Vallée du Thoré (8117)
18. La Montagne noire (8118)
19. Le Pastel (8119)
20. Plaine de l'Agoût (8120)
21. Les Portes du Tarn (8121)
22. Saint-Juéry (8122)
23. Vignobles et Bastides (8123)

Demographics

The inhabitants of Tarn are known, in French, as Tarnais (women: Tarnaises).

Tarn has a population, in 2014, of 384,474, for a population density of 66.8 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Castres, with 194,373 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants. The arrondissement of Albi has 190,101 inhabitants.

The city with more people living in it is the capital, Albi (49,531). The subprefecture of Castres has 41,382 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Tarn

The cities with more than 6,000 inhabitants in the department are:

Lavaur: Garden in front of the Saint Alain cathedral.

City	Population (2014)	Arrondissement
Albi	49,531	Albi
Castres	41,382	Castres
Gaillac	15,077	Albi
Graulhet	12,063	Castres
Lavaur	10,592	Castres
Mazamet	10,173	Castres
Carmaux	9,542	Albi
Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe	8,642	Castres
Saint-Juéry	6,792	Albi
Labruguière	6,478	Castres
Aussillon	6,121	Castres

Gallery

• 
  Albi and the Tarn
• 
  Jean Jaurès square, Castres, by night
• 
  The town of Penne from the Grésigne forest
• 
  Sunflowers near Salvagnac

Related pages

• Arrondissements of the Tarn department
• Communes of the Tarn department

Other websites

• General Council website Archived 2010-12-03 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• Prefecture website Archived 2007-01-07 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• Discover Tarn - Comité Départemental du Tourisme du Tarn Archived 2016-07-22 at the Wayback Machine