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north of the department the Dordogne has a course of 37 m.; among its tributaries are the Cere, which has its rise in Cantal, and the Ouysse, a river of no See also:

GREAT

great length, but remarkable for the abundance of its See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters. The streams in the south of Lot all flow into the Tarn. The eastern and western portions. of the department are covered by ranges of hills; the north, the centre, and part of the south are occupied by a See also:

belt of See also:

LIMESTONE

limestone plateaus or See also:

CAUSSES (from Lat. calx through local Fr. caous, meaning " lime ")

causses, that to the north of the Dordogne is called the Causse de Martel; between the Dordogne and the Lot is the Causse de Gramat or de See also:

ROCAMADOUR

Rocamadour; south of the Lot is the Causse de See also:

CAHORS

Cahors. The causses are for the most part See also:

BARE

bare and arid owing to the rapid disappearance of the See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain in clefts and chasms in the limestone, which are known as igues. These are most numerous in the Causse de Gramat and are sometimes of great beauty; the best known is the Gouffre de Padirac, 7 M.

N.E. of Rocamadour. The altitude of the causses (from 700 to 1300 ft., much See also:

LOWER

lower than that of the similar plateaus in See also:

LOZERE

Lozere, See also:

HERAULT

Herault and Aveyron) permits the cultivation of the See also:

VINE

vine; they also yield a small quantity of cereals and potatoes and some See also:

wood. The deep intervening valleys are full of verdure, being well watered by abundant springs. The See also:

CLIMATE

climate is on the whole that of the Girondine region; the valleys are warm, and the rainfall is somewhat above the See also:

AVERAGE

average for France. The difference of temperature between the higher parts of the department belonging to the central See also:

plateau and the sheltered valleys of the south-west is considerable. See also:

Wheat, See also:

MAIZE, or INDIAN CORN

maize, oats and See also:

rye are the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief cereals. See also:

WINE (Lat. vinum, Gr. oivos)

Wine is the principal product, the most valued being that of Cahors grown in the valley of the Lot, which is, in See also:

general, the most productive portion of the department. It is used partly for blending with other wines and partly for See also:

LOCAL

local See also:

CONSUMPTION (Lat. consumere)

consumption. The north-east cantons produce large quantities of chestnuts; walnuts, apples and plums are See also:

COMMON

common, and the department also grows potatoes and See also:

TOBACCO

tobacco and supplies truffles. See also:

Sheep are the most abundant See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of live stock; but pigs, horned See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle, horses, asses, mules and goats are also reared, as well as poultry and bees. See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

Iron and See also:

COAL

coal are See also:

MINED

mined, and there are important See also:

ZINC

zinc deposits (Planioles). See also:

Lime-See also:

stone is quarried.

- There are oil-See also:

WORKS

works and numerous See also:

mills, and See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool See also:

SPINNING (from O. Eng. spinnen, to spin, cf. Ger. spinnen, &c., the Teut. root is seen, to draw out, cf. span, spider)

spinning and See also:

CARDING

carding as well as See also:

CLOTH

cloth making, tanning, currying, See also:

BREWING

brewing and the making of agricultural implements are carried on to some extent. The three arrondissements are those of Cahors, the See also:

capital, See also:

FIGEAC

Figeac and Gourdon; there are 29 cantons and 329 communes. ' Lot belongs to the 17th military district, and to the academie of See also:

Toulouse, and falls within the circumscription of the See also:

court of See also:

APPEAL

appeal at See also:

AGEN

Agen, and the province of the See also:

ARCHBISHOP (Lat. archiepiscopus, from Gr. apxceatorcoros)

archbishop of See also:

ALBI

Albi. It is served by the See also:

Orleans railway. Cahors, Figeac and Rocamadour are the principal places. Of the interesting churches and chateaux of the '(department, may be mentioned the See also:

FINE

fine feudal fortress at See also:

CASTELNAU, MICHEL DE, SIEUR DE LA MAUVTSSIERE (c. 1520-1592)

Castelnau occupying a commanding natural position, with an See also:

AUDIENCE (from Lat. audire, to hear)

audience See also:

hall of the 12th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and the Romanesque See also:

abbey-See also:

church at Souillac with fine sculpturing on the principal entrance. The plateau of See also:

Puy d'Issolu, near Vayrac, is believed by most authorities to be the site of the See also:

ancient Uxcellodunum, the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of the last stand of the Gauls against See also:

JULIUS

Julius See also:

Caesar in 51 B.C. Lot has many dolmens, the finest being that of See also:

PIERRE

Pierre Martine, near Livernon (arr. of Figeac). LOT-ET-GARONNE, a department of south-western France, formed in 1790 of See also:

AGENAIS

Agenais and Bazadais, two districts of the old province of See also:

GUIENNE

Guienne, and of Condomois, Lomagne, Brullois and pays d'See also:

ALBRET

Albret, formerly portions of See also:

GASCONY (Wasconia)

Gascony. It is bounded W. by See also:

GIRONDE

Gironde, N. by Dordogne, E. by Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne, S. by See also:

GERS

Gers and S.W. by See also:

LANDES

Landes. Area 2079 sq. m. Pop.

(19(96) 274,610. The Garonne, which traverses the department from S.E. to N.W., divides it into two unequal parts.. That to the north is a See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country of hills and deep ravines, and the slope is from east to west, while in the region to the south, which is a continuation of the plateau of Lannemezan and See also:

ARMAGNAC

Armagnac, the slope is directly from south to north. A small portion in the south-west belongs to the sterile region of the Landes (q.v.); the broad valleys of the Garonne and of its affluent the Lot are proverbial for their fertility. The wildest part is towards the north-east on the borders of Dordogne, where a region of causses (limestone plateaus) and forests begins; the highest point (896 ft.) is also found here. The Garonne, where it quits the department, is only some 20 ft. above the See also:

sea-level; it is navigable throughout, with the help of its lateral See also:

canal, as also are the Lot and Baise with the help of locks. The Drot, a right affluent of the Garonne in the north of the department, is also navigable in the lower part of its course. The climate is that of the Girondine region—mild and fine—the mean temperature of Agen being 56.6° Fahr., or above that of See also:

Paris; the See also:

ANNUAL

annual rainfall, which, in the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain of Agen, varies from 20 to 24 in., is nearly the least in France. Agriculturally the department is one of the richest. Of cereals wheat is the chief, maize and oats coming next. Potatoes, vines and tobacco are important See also:

SOURCES

sources of See also:

WEALTH

wealth. The best wines are those of Clairac and Buzet.

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