CANTAL

dpartement, Auvergne region, south-central France, in the higher, southern portion of the ancient province of Auvergne. A region of high plateaus extending eastward into the Massif Central, Cantal has at its centre a symmetrical volcanic mass, the Massif Cantal, which culminates in the precipice known as the Plomb du Cantal, 6,096 feet (1,858 m). Tablelike tongues of solidified lava extend from the central core southeast and north. Streams arise and radiate to the Allier, Dordogne, and Truyre rivers, cutting through the volcanic rock and forming passes at the valley heads. The rivers are a source of hydroelectric power. Winters are wet and severe; the snow falls early and lasts late into spring. In the high country an alpine pastoral economy prevails. The cattle graze on upland pastures (aigades) from May to September. The herdsmen summer in low stone burons (seasonal shelters) where the Cantal cheeses are also made, the milk of 30 cows going into one 50-kilogram (110-pound) wheel of cheese. Fodder and potatoes are grown in the lowlands. Uranium is mined in the northwest corner of Cantal near Bort-les-Orgues. Some of the many thermal springs, notably those of Chaudes-Aigues, are developed as spas; some of the spas have begun to add facilities for winter sports. There are three arrondissements: Aurillac, the capital; Mauriac; and Saint-Flour. Cantal is in the educational division of Clermont-Ferrand, and its court of appeals is in Riom, both in the adjacent Puy-de-Dme dpartement. A tradition of temporary migration, both short-term during the lowland harvests and longer-term, takes Auvergnats to Paris, where many are in the catering trades. Permanent migration greatly reduced the population after the coming of the railroads in the 1860s. Area 2,211 square miles (5,726 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 158,195.