The Sidobre is a mountainous area located in the south of the Massif central , in central France . It consists of a plateau made of granite , 15.3 km long, 6.6 km wide and covered with forests. Its highest point is in the lieu-dit “Le Patau” (707 m).
16-676: It is located in the Tarn department, at the South-Western end of the Massif central , between Lacrouzette, Ferrières, Saint-Salvy-de-la-Balme and Lafontasse, surrounded by the following natural regions : The granite of the Sidobre is a plutonic rock resulting from a Hercynian intrusion dated back (using the Rubidium-Strontium method ) to 304 ± 8 Ma . The magma cooled down slowly and crystallised at
32-523: A depth of 7.5 to 20 km. It eventually came to the surface with the erosion of the Cambrian metamorphic rocks. In the central part of the massif , the granite is a slightly porphyric granodiorite , hence its blue tints, while the outer part is essentially composed of monzonite . Originally composed by one single piece of rock, the Sidobre was cracked by the Pyrenean orogeny , thus becoming more exposed to
48-539: A much smaller scale), and has inspired many legends and tales. The Sidobre is an important zone of quarrying, representing half of the granite production in France, with about 1,200 employees and 100 companies. Because of competition from China, there has been a steady decrease in the number of quarries since the 1950s, with barely fifteen nowadays, though these have grown bigger. The granite is used for many purposes: pavements, airport runways, funerary art... While mass tourism
64-621: Is still uncommon in the area, local tourism also contributes to the Sidobre's economy. The site and its environment have been placed under the protection of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park . Tarn (department) Tarn ( French pronunciation: [taʁn] or [ta:ʁ] ; Occitan pronunciation: [taɾ] ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France . Named after
80-522: The 2015 departmental elections , the Socialist Party (PS) won 26 seats and The Republicans (LR) and Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) alliance won 18 seats; two miscellaneous right candidates complete the assembly composition. Christophe Ramond (PS) has been President of the Departmental Council since 2017. In the 2017 legislative election , Tarn elected the following members of
96-540: The French Republican Calendar , and on the 24th November the National Convention accepted the names with minor changes. It was decided to omit the circumflex ( accent circonflexe ) in the names of the winter months, so the month was named Pluviose instead of Pluviôse . However, in historiography the spelling Pluviôse is still preferred. Like all FRC months Pluviôse lasted 30 days and
112-625: The National Assembly : Pluvi%C3%B4se Pluviôse ( French pronunciation: [plyvjoz] ; also Pluviose ) was the fifth month in the French Republican Calendar . The month was named after the Latin word pluviosus 'rainy'. Pluviôse was the second month of the winter quarter ( mois d'hiver ), starting between the 20th and 22 January, and ending between the 18th and 20 February. It follows Nivôse and precedes Ventôse . On October 24, 1793 Fabre d'Églantine suggested new names for
128-714: The Sidobre and the Montagne Noire , belonging to the Cévennes . The stony and wind-blown slopes of the Mountains of Lacaune ( Monts de Lacaune ) are used for pasture . The highest point of the range and of the department is the Puech Montgrand , 1,267 m (4,157 ft) high; several other summits are not much short of this. The granite-strewn plateaux of the Sidobre , from 490 to 610 m (1,600 to 2,000 ft) high, separate
144-455: The rhexistasy , which explain the remarkable natural forms and constructions of the site. The Sidobre, while just adjacent to it, is totally independent from the Montagne Noire . They are separated by the sedimentary basin of Castres and the channel of the river Thoré ”. This stunning site, with its dozens of huge strange-shaped rocks, is unique in Europe (other sites exist in France, but in
160-451: The Law of 22 December 1789. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc , and comprised the dioceses of Albi and Castres (which found themselves merged in 1817). 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,
176-412: 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. By the law of 28 Pluviôse Year 5 , the departments of Hérault and of Tarn exchanged the canton of Anglès (which had been part of
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#1732858458700192-563: The diocese of Saint-Pons , but which has remained in Tarn) for that of Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare (which had been part of the diocese of Castres, but which today remains in Hérault). Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of 5,757.9 km (2,223 sq mi). The department is surrounded by 5 departments, all belonging to the region Occitanie : Hérault to the southeast, Aude to
208-688: The exception of a small portion of the Montagne Noire, which drains into the river Aude , the whole department belongs to the basin of the Garonne . Tarn has a population, in 2019, of 389,844, for a population density of 67.7 inhabitants/km . Population development since 1801: The most populous commune is Albi , the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 6,000 inhabitants: There are 2 arrondissements , 23 cantons and 314 communes in Tarn. The Departmental Council of Tarn has 46 seats. In
224-481: The river Tarn , it had a population of 389,844 as of 2019. Its prefecture and largest city is Albi ; it has a single subprefecture , Castres . In French , the inhabitants of Tarn are known as Tarnais (masculine) and Tarnaises (feminine). Its INSEE and postcode number is 81. Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, through application of
240-420: The south, Aveyron to the north and east, Haute-Garonne to the southwest and west, as well as Tarn-et-Garonne to the northwest. It is one of two French departments surrounded entirely by other departments of the same region. The slope of the department is from east to west, and its general character is mountainous or hilly. Tarn's three principal ranges lying to the south-east are: the Mountains of Lacaune ,
256-543: The valley of the river Agout from that of its western tributary, the Thoré River. The Montagne Noire , on the southwestern border of the department, derives its name from the forests on its northern slope. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore at 1,211 m (3,973 ft) high. The limestone and sandstone foot-hills are clothed with vines and fruit trees, and are broken by deep alluvial valleys of particular fertility. With
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