Cantal
Cantal (French pronunciation: [kɑ̃tal] ⓘ; Occitan: Cantal or Cantau) is a rural department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (French: Cantaliens / Cantaliennes or Cantalous / Cantaloues). Cantal borders the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Lot, Lozère and Corrèze, in the Massif Central natural region.
Cantal | |
|---|---|
From top down, left to right: Château de Réghaud in Sénezergues, Rhue River, Truyère River, Cheylade | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Cantal in France | |
| Coordinates: 45°2′N 3°6′E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Aurillac |
| Subprefectures | Mauriac Saint-Flour |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Bruno Faure (LR) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,726 km2 (2,211 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 144,226 |
| • Rank | 98th |
| • Density | 25/km2 (65/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 15 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 15 |
| Communes | 246 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
Along with neighbouring Lozère and Creuse, 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, making it the country's 98th most populated department. Of the 96 metropolitan departments, it is the fifth least populated.