Haute-Garonne

Haute-Garonne Nauta Garona  (Occitan)
Department of France
Prefecture building in Toulouse, with the city's cathedral in the background
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Haute-Garonne in France
Coordinates: 43°25′N 1°30′E / 43.417°N 1.500°E / 43.417; 1.500Coordinates: 43°25′N 1°30′E / 43.417°N 1.500°E / 43.417; 1.500
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Prefecture	Toulouse
Subprefectures	Saint-Gaudens Muret
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Georges Méric (PS)
Area 1
• Total	6,309 km2 (2,436 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	1,348,183
• Rank	13th
• Density	210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	31
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	27
Communes	586
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Haute-Garonne (French pronunciation: ​[ot ɡaʁɔn]; Occitan: Nauta Garona, pronounced [ˈnawto ɡaˈɾuno]; English: Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the Garonne River, which is flows over the department. its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. In 2016, it had a population of 1,348,183.

History[]

Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne/Gascony.

The department was originally larger. The reduction in its area resulted from an imperial decree dated 21 November 1808 and which established the neighbouring department of Tarn-et-Garonne, to the north. The new department, created in response to the pleadings of various locally powerful politicians, took territory from five surrounding departments including Haute-Garonne. The districts lost to Tarn-et-Garonne in 1808 were those of Montech and Castelsarrasin.

Geography[]

Map of Haute-Garonne with its main cities and towns

Haute-Garonne is part of the current region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Aude, and Ariège. It also borders Spain in the south (province of Lleida and province of Huesca).

The department is crossed by the upper course of the Garonne river (hence the name) for nearly 200 kilometers (120 mi). The borders of the department follow the river. The Garonne enters France from Spain at the town of Fos, and goes through Toulouse and leaves the department. The extreme south of the department lies in the Pyrenees mountain range and is very mountainous. The highest elevation is the Peak of Perdiguère, at 3,222 meters (10,571 feet) above sea level.

Politics[]

This department was the political base of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne[]

The Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne comprises 54 seats. In the 2015 departmental elections, the Socialist Party (PS) won 48 seats. The Republicans secured the remaining 6 seats. The President of the Departmental Council has been Georges Méric (PS) since 2015.

Members of the National Assembly[]

Haute-Garonne elected the following members of the National Assembly during the 2017 legislative election:

Demographics[]

The inhabitants of the department are called Haut-Garonnais. The greatest population concentration is around Toulouse. The south of the department is quite sparsely populated. More than a million people inhabited the department at the last census in 1999. Young people are well represented with 55% of the population under the age of 40 and of those, 16% are between the ages of 20 and 29. This is because Toulouse is a university town.

The largest and most populous towns are:

Tourism[]

Main sights[]

Haute-Garonne's main sights include:

• 

  The Capitole de Toulouse at night

• 

  Château de Laréole

• 

  The Pyrenees mountain range seen from Bagnères-de-Luchon

• 

  Lac d'Oô

• 

  Cité de l'espace

Winter sports[]

The department has four ski resorts:

• Peyragudes (1600 m -2450 m), 55 km of slopes
• Luchon-Superbagnères (1440 m - 2260 m), 30 km of slopes
• Le Mourtis (1380 m - 1816 m), 22 km of slopes
• Bourg-d'Oueil (1350 m - 1500 m)

See also[]

• Cantons of the Haute-Garonne department
• Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
• Arrondissements of the Haute-Garonne department

References[]

External links[]

• (in French) General council website
• (in French) Prefecture website
• (in French) Tourism website
• (in French) Photography Panoramics 360° website