Gard

Gard
Coat of Arms of Gard
Location
Administration
Department number:	30
Region:	Languedoc-Roussillon
Prefecture:	Nîmes
Subprefectures:	Alès Le Vigan
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	46
Communes:	353
President of the General Council:	Damien Alary PS
Statistics
Population	Ranked 34th
-1999	623,125
Population density:	106/km2
Land area¹:	5853 km2
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2.

Gard (Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is named after the river Gardon (or Gard).

History

The Gard area was settled by the Romans in classical times. It was crossed by the Via Domitia, which was constructed in 118 BC.

Gard is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the ancient province of Languedoc.

Geography

Gard is part of the region of Languedoc-Roussillon and is surrounded by the departments of Hérault, Lozère, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, and Ardèche.

The highest point in the department is the Mont Aigoual.

Serious flooding has occurred in the department in recent years.

Politics

The President of the General Council is Damien Alary of the Socialist Party.

Tourism

Gard contains a part of the Cévennes National Park.

There are important Roman architectural remains in Nîmes, as well as the Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct.

Signpost welcoming travellers into the Gard, at Beaucaire.

See also

• Cantons of the Gard department
• Communes of the Gard department
• Arrondissements of the Gard department

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gard

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website
• (French) Welcome to the Gard
• (English) Welcome to the Gard
• (English and French) The Regordane Way or St Gilles Trail
• Map of the department
• (French) Guide Gard