Auvergne (region)

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This article is about the French administrative région of Auvergne. For the historical county and province of Auvergne, see Auvergne (province).
Région Auvergne
Flag of Auvergne
Logo of Auvergne
(Region flag) (Region logo)
Location
Map of France highlighting the Region of Auvergne
Administration
Capital Clermont-Ferrand
Regional President René Souchon
(PS) (since 2006)
Departments Allier
Cantal
Haute-Loire
Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissements 14
Cantons 158
Communes 1,310
Statistics
Land area1 26,013 km²
Population (Ranked 19th)
 - January 1, 2006 est. 1,334,000
 - March 8, 1999 census 1,308,878
 - Density (2006) 51/km²
1 French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) as well as the estuaries of rivers
France

Auvergne (Occitan: Auvèrnhe / Auvèrnha) is one of the 26 administrative regions of France.

The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not part of Auvergne. The Auvergne region is composed of the following old provinces:

  • Auvergne: departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, northwest of Haute-Loire, and extreme south of Allier. The province of Auvergne is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region.
  • Bourbonnais: department of Allier. A small part of Bourbonnais is also contained inside the Centre region.
  • Velay: center and southeast of department of Haute-Loire. Velay is entirely contained inside the Auvergne region.
  • a small part of Gévaudan: extreme southwest of Haute-Loire. Gévaudan is essentially inside the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
  • a small part of Vivarais: extreme southeast of Haute-Loire. Vivarais is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region.
  • a small part of Forez: extreme northeast of Haute-Loire. Forez is essentially inside the Rhône-Alpes region.

Velay, Gévaudan, and Vivarais are often considered to be sub-provinces of the old Languedoc province. Forez is also often considered to be a sub-province of Lyonnais province. Therefore, the modern region of Auvergne is composed of the provinces of Auvergne, Bourbonnais, and parts of Languedoc and Lyonnais.

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