Lozère

Lozère, a department of south-eastern France belonging to the central plateau, composed of almost the whole of Gévaudan and of some portions of the old dioceses of Uzès and Alais, districts all formerly included in the province of Languedoc. Pop. (1906) 128,016. Area, 1999 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Cantal and Haute-Loire, E. by Ardèche and Gard, S. by Gard and Aveyron and W. by Aveyron and Cantal. Lozère is mountainous throughout and in average elevation is the highest of all the French departments. It has three distinct regions—the Cévennes proper to the south-east, the causses to the south-west and the mountain tracts which occupy the rest of its area. The Cévennes begin (within Lozère) with Mont Aigoual, which rises to a height of more than 5100 ft.; parallel to this are the mountains of Bougès, bold and bare on their southern face, but falling gently with wooded slopes towards the Tarn which roughly limits the Cévennes on the north. To the north of the Tarn is the range of Lozère, including the peak of Finiels, the highest point of the department (5584 ft.). Farther on occurs the broad marshy plateau of Montbel, which drains southward to the Lot, northwards to the Allier, eastward by the Chassezac to the Ardèche. From this plateau extend the mountains of La Margeride, undulating granitic tablelands partly clothed with woods of oak, beech and fir, and partly covered with pastures, to which flocks are brought from lower Languedoc in summer. The highest point (Truc de Randon) reaches 5098 ft. Adjoining the Margeride hills on the west is the volcanic range of Aubrac, a pastoral district where horned cattle take the place of sheep; the highest point is 4826 ft. The causses of Lozère, having an area of about 564 sq. m., are calcareous, fissured and arid, but separated from each other by deep and well-watered gorges, contrasting with the desolate aspect of the plateaus. The causse of Sauveterre, between the Lot and the Tarn, ranges from 3000 to 3300 ft. in height; that of Méjan has nearly the same average altitude, but has peaks some 1000 ft. higher. Between these two causses the Tarn valley is among the most picturesque in France. Lozère is watered entirely by rivers rising within its own boundaries, being in this respect unique. The climate of Lozère varies greatly with the locality. The mean temperature of Mende (50° F.) is below that of Paris; that of the mountains is always low, but on the causses the summer is scorching and the winter severe; in the Cévennes the climate becomes mild enough at their base (656 ft.) to permit the growth of the olive. Rain falls in violent storms, causing disastrous floods. On the Mediterranean versant there are 76 in., in the Garonne basin 46 and in that of the Loire only 28. Sheep and cattle-rearing and cheese-making are the chief occupations. Bees are kept, and, among the Cévennes, silkworms. Large quantities of chestnuts are exported from the Cévennes, where they form an important article of diet. In the valley of the Lot wheat and fruit are the chief products; elsewhere rye is the chief cereal, and oats, barley, meslin and potatoes are also grown. Fruit trees and leguminous plants are irrigated by small canals (béals) on terraces made and maintained with much labour. Lead, zinc and antimony are found. Saw-milling, the manufacture of wooden shoes and wool-spinning are carried on; otherwise industries are few and unimportant. Of mineral springs, those of Bagnols-les-Bains are most frequented. The line of the Paris-Lyon company from Paris to Nîmes traverses the eastern border of the department, which is also served by the Midi railway with the line from Neussargues to Béziers via Marvéjols. The arrondissements are Mende, Florac and Marvéjols; the cantons number 24, the communes 198. Lozère forms the diocese of Mende and part of the ecclesiastical province of Albi. It falls within the region of the XVI. army corps, the circumscriptions of the académie (educational division) of Montpellier and the appeal court of Nîmes. Mende (q.v.) is its most important town.