Arrondissements of the Lot department facts for kids
Imagine France like a big puzzle. It's divided into smaller parts called 'departments.' The Lot department is one of these parts. Inside the Lot department, there are even smaller areas called arrondissements. You can think of them like special districts or boroughs.
Each arrondissement has a main town or city that acts as its capital. This capital is called a 'subprefecture.' If the main capital city of the whole Lot department is also inside an arrondissement, then that city acts as both the department's capital and the arrondissement's capital.
These arrondissements are then broken down into even smaller areas called 'communes.' Communes are like local towns or villages.
The Lot department has 3 main arrondissements:
| INSEE code |
Arrondissement | Capital | Population (2014) |
Area (km²) |
Density (inh./km²) |
Communes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 461 | Cahors | Cahors | 76,216 | 2,179.3 | 35.0 | 129 |
| 462 | Figeac | Figeac | 54,060 | 1,550.3 | 34.9 | 116 |
| 463 | Gourdon | Gourdon | 43,372 | 1,486.9 | 29.2 | 81 |
History of Lot's Arrondissements
The way the Lot department is organized has changed a bit over time. Here's a quick look at its history:
- 1790: The Lot department was first created. At that time, it had six smaller areas called 'districts.' These districts were Cahors, Martel, Gourdon, Figeac, Montauban, and Lauzerte. The main capital city for the whole department was Cahors.
- 1800: The 'districts' were changed into 'arrondissements.' So, the Lot department then had four arrondissements: Cahors, Figeac, Gourdon, and Montauban.
- 1926: A big change happened! The arrondissement of Montauban was moved to a brand new department called Tarn-et-Garonne. This is why the Lot department now has three arrondissements instead of four.
Images for kids
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Map of arrondissements of the Lot department.
