kids encyclopedia robot

Gers facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Gers
Prefecture building of the Gers department
Prefecture building of the Gers department, in Auch
Flag of Gers
Flag
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Location of Gers in France
Location of Gers in France
Country France
Region Occitanie
Département 4 March 1790
Prefecture Auch
Subprefectures Condom, Mirande
Area
 • Total 6,256.8 km2 (2,415.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
 • Total 190,625
 • Density 30.4669/km2 (78.9088/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Gersois
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code FR-32
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 17
Communes 462
Website www.gers.fr/

Gers (Gascon: Gers) is a department in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Gers river.

History

Gers is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the old provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.

The new department had six districts: Auch, Lectoure, Condom, Nogaro, L'Isle-Jourdain and Mirande. The capital (now prefecture) was Auch.

in 1808, part of the Gers department was transferred to the new Tarn-et-Garonne department'.

Geography

The Gers France summer
Summer in Gers. In the background, the Pyrenees.

Gers is known for its hilly landscape and bastide villages. The Pyrenees are visible to the south.

Gers is part of the Occitanie region, and is the 34th French department in area with 6,256.8 km2 (2,416 sq mi).

The department is surrounded by six departments in two regions:

The main rivers of the department are the Garonne and the Gers, a left tributary of the Garonne. Other rivers are Save, Gimone, Arrats, Baïse and Osse.

The highest point in the department is Mont de Chapelle Saint Roch (43°21′20″N 00°30′09″E / 43.35556°N 0.50250°E / 43.35556; 0.50250 (Mont de Chapelle Saint Roch)), in west central Pyrénées near the border with the Hautes-Pyrénées department, with an altitude of 377 m (1,237 ft).

Climate

The climate of Gers is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The annual rainfall in the department varies from over 900 mm (35.4 in) in the southwest of the department, to less than 700 mm (27.6 in) in the northeast (Auch, Condom and Lectoure).

Summers are very hot and dry, the temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F). Winters vary, often with frost, but the climate remains mild and dry.

Climate data for Auch, Gers, France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4)
11.8
(53.2)
15.1
(59.2)
17.6
(63.7)
21.5
(70.7)
25.3
(77.5)
27.9
(82.2)
27.9
(82.2)
24.9
(76.8)
19.9
(67.8)
13.7
(56.7)
10.4
(50.7)
18.9
(65.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)
6.8
(44.2)
9.5
(49.1)
11.9
(53.4)
15.8
(60.4)
19.4
(66.9)
21.6
(70.9)
21.4
(70.5)
18.5
(65.3)
14.5
(58.1)
9.3
(48.7)
6.3
(43.3)
13.4
(56.1)
Average low °C (°F) 1.5
(34.7)
1.7
(35.1)
3.9
(39.0)
6.2
(43.2)
10
(50)
13.4
(56.1)
15.2
(59.4)
14.9
(58.8)
12
(54)
9.1
(48.4)
4.8
(40.6)
2.1
(35.8)
7.9
(46.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 40.3
(1.59)
31.6
(1.24)
37.8
(1.49)
61.4
(2.42)
84.6
(3.33)
68.4
(2.69)
58.8
(2.31)
64.3
(2.53)
75
(3.0)
72.1
(2.84)
54.6
(2.15)
43.1
(1.70)
692
(27.29)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Administration

The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Gers in Auch. Gers is part of the region of Occitanie.

Administrative divisions

There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 462 communes (municipalities) in Gers.

Arrondissements of the Gers department
INSEE
code
Arrondissement Capital Population
(2014)
Area
(km²)
Density
(Inh./km²)
Communes
321 Auch Auch 87,118 2,133.9 40.8 154
322 Condom Condom 65,562 2,436.8 26.9 158
323 Mirande Mirande 37,945 1,686.1 22.5 150

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Gers department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

  1. Adour-Gersoise (3201)
  2. Armagnac-Ténarèze (3202)
  3. Astarac-Gimone (3203)
  4. Auch-1 (3204)
  5. Auch-2 (3205)
  6. Auch-3 (3206)
  7. Baïse-Armagnac (3207)
  8. Fezensac (3208)
  9. Fleurance-Lomagne (3209)
  10. Gascogne-Auscitaine (3210)
  11. Gimone-Arrats (3211)
  12. Grand-Bas-Armagnac (3212)
  13. L'Isle-Jourdain (3213)
  14. Lectoure-Lomagne (3214)
  15. Mirande-Astarac (3215)
  16. Pardiac-Rivière-Basse (3216)
  17. Val de Save (3217)

Demographics

The inhabitants of Gers are known, in French, as Gersois (women: Gersoises).

Gers has a population, in 2014, of 190,625, for a population density of 30.5 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Auch, with 87,118 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Condom and Mirande, have respectively 65,562 and 37,945 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Gers

Vieille ville d'Auch
The old town, Auch.

The 10 most important cities in the department are:

City Population
(2014)
Arrondissement
Auch 21,807 Auch
L'Isle-Jourdain 8,345 Auch
Condom 6,835 Condom
Fleurance 6,292 Condom
Eauze 3,851 Condom
Lectoure 3,724 Condom
Mirande 3,527 Mirande
Vic-Fezensac 3,525 Auch
Gimont 2,922 Auch
Pavie 2,476 Auch

Economy

The economy in Gers revolves primarily around agriculture and culinary tourism. The department is a producer of maize, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower.

Some well-known products of the region are:

Gallery

Related pages



Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gers (departamento) para niños

kids search engine
Gers Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.