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| Haute-Garonne | |
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| Coat of arms of the Haute-Garonne department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 31 |
| Region: | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Prefecture: | Toulouse |
| Subprefectures: | Saint-Gaudens Muret |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 53 |
| Communes: | 588 |
| President of the General Council: | Pierre Izard |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 17th |
| -Jan.1, 2006 estimate -March 8, 1999 census |
1,169,497 1,046,338 |
| Population density: | 185/km² |
| Land area¹: | 6,309 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Haute-Garonne (Occitan: Nauta Garona; English: Upper Garonne) is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.
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History
Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.
Geography
Haute-Garonne is part of the current region of Midi-Pyrénées 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 (125 miles). The borders of the department follow the river. The Garonne enters France from Spain at the town of Fos, 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 ft) above sea level.
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 towns are :
| Commune | Population (1999) | Commune | Population (1999) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 390 350 | Colomiers | 28 538 |
| Tournefeuille | 22 758 | Muret | 20 735 |
| Blagnac | 20 586 | Plaisance-du-Touch | 14 164 |
| Cugnaux | 12 997 | L'Union | 12 141 |
| Balma | 11 944 | Ramonville-Saint-Agne | 11 696 |
| Saint-Orens-de-Gameville | 11 142 | Saint-Gaudens | 10 845 |
| Castanet-Tolosan | 10 250 | Portet-sur-Garonne | 8 737 |
| Saint-Jean | 8 362 | Villeneuve-Tolosane | 8 252 |
| Revel | 7 985 | Castelginest | 7 735 |
| Pibrac | 7 440 | Fonsorbes | 6 909 |
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
External links
- (French) General council website
- (French) Prefecture website
- (English) Travel guide to Haute-Garonne
- (French) Tourism website
