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Midi-Pyrénées facts for kids

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Midi-Pyrénées
Region
Flag of Midi-Pyrénées.svg
Flag
Blason Languedoc.svg
Symbol
Country  France
Préfecture Toulouse
 - coordinates 43°36′16″N 1°26′38″E / 43.60444°N 1.44389°E / 43.60444; 1.44389
Area 45,348 km² (17,509 sq mi)
Population 2,926,592 (2012)
Density 65 /km² (168 /sq mi)
Subdivisions 8 departments
22 arrondissements
293 cantons
3,020 communes
President Martin Malvy
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Midi-Pyrénées (Occitan: [Miègjorn-Pirenèus] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is a former administrative region of France. It is now part of the administrative region of Occitanie. It is part of the historical region of Occitania.

The name of the region is not based on any old name, like in most other regions, but on the geography of the region, Midi (meaning "southern France") - Pyrénées (Pyrenees mountains that are the highest mountains in the region). The French adjective and name of the people living in the region is Midi-Pyrénéen.

The departments in the region were Ariège, Aveyron, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Lot, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn, and Tarn-et-Garonne. Its capital was Toulouse.

Geography

The Midi-Pyrénées region was the largest region of Metropolitan France. It had an area of 45,348 km2 (17,509 sq mi). It bordered to the south with Spain and Andorra. It also bordered four French regions: Aquitaine to the west, Limousin to the north, Auvergne to the northeast and Languedoc-Roussillon to the east.

The region can be divided into three landscape zones:

The Pic Vignemale (42°46′26″N 0°8′51″E / 42.77389°N 0.14750°E / 42.77389; 0.14750 (Vignemale)), at 3,299 m (10,823 ft), is the highest point of the Midi-Pyrénées region; it is on the border with Spain. The Vignemale is in the Pyrénées National Park.

The main rivers of the region are the Garonne river, that flows through the Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées and Tarn-et-Garonne departments; and the Adour river, that flows through the Hautes-Pyrénées and Gers departments.

Departments

The Midi-Pyrénées region was formed by eight departments:

Département Préfecture ISO
3166-2
Population
(2012)
Area
(km²)
Density
(Inh./km²)
Ariège Foix FR-09 152,366   4,890 31.2
Aveyron Rodez FR-12 276,229 8,735 31.6
Haute-Garonne Toulouse FR-31 1,279,349 6,309 202.8
Gers Auch FR-32 189,530 6,257 30.3
Lot Cahors FR-46 174,346 5,217 33.4
Hautes-Pyrénées Tarbes FR-65 228,854 4,464 51.3
Tarn Albi FR-81 378,947 5,758 65.8
Tarn-et-Garonne Montauban FR-82 246,971 3,718 66.4

Demographics

In 2012, The Midi-Pyrénées region had a population of 2,926,592. Its population density was 64.5 inhabitants/km2.

Toulouse Capitole Night Wikimedia Commons
Le Capitole, Toulouse

The 10 most important cities in the region were:

City Population
(2012)
Départment
Toulouse 453,317 Haute-Garonne
Montauban 56,887 Tarn-et-Garonne
Albi 49,231 Tarn
Tarbes 41,664 Hautes-Pyrénées
Castres 41,529 Tarn
Colomiers 36,699 Haute-Garonne
Tournefeuille 26,342 Haute-Garonne
Muret 24,492 Haute-Garonne
Rodez 23,744 Aveyron
Blagnac 22,983 Haute-Garonne

Gallery

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Mediodía-Pirineos para niños

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