Auvergne

Auvergne is an administrative région of central France, consisting of the départements of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, Haute-Loire and Allier.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Culture

History

Auvergne was also historically a province of France, deriving its name from Averni, a Gallic tribe who once occupied the area. In 1790, the historical province was divided into the modern-day départements, although Haute-Loire and Allier also include some land from the historical provinces of Bourbonnais, Lyonnais and Languedoc.

Geography

The principal town of Auvergne is Clermont-Ferrand, along with the towns of Vichy and Limoges. A large part of the Auvergne region is covered by the volcanic Massif Central mountain range, which stretches over nearly one-sixth of France's total area.

Economy

The region is famed for its cheeses, exports of mineral waters, and tires. It is also the site of a number of major hydroelectric projects, mainly located on the Tarn, Dordogne, Cère, Lot, and Truyère rivers.

Culture

The composer Joseph Canteloube based his well known piece Songs of the Auvergne (1930; for voice and orchestra) on folk music and songs from Auvergne.

The writer Clark Ashton Smith wrote a series of short stories based in the mythical region of Averoigne, a fictional counterpart to this region.