GARD

dpartement, Languedoc-Roussillon rgion, southern France. It is bounded on the east by the Rhne River and on the south by 10 miles (16 km) of Mediterranean coastline. The dpartement was created from an eastern part of the historic province of Languedoc. Gard is divided into three distinct regions: (1) the northwest, on the eastern border of the Massif Central, in which the humid, wooded Cvennes heights reach 5,135 feet (1,565 m) at Mount Aigoual; (2) the southeast, in which cereals, olives, and vines grow in the dry, hilly Garrigues region; and (3) the south, in which the summers are hot and dry and the best arable land is found, including the plain of Nmes and some of the marshlands of the Rhne River delta. The Gard, or Gardon, River, a tributary of the Rhne, forms gorges through the Garrigues region. The Hrault River flows through northwestern Gard, and the Ardche River borders the dpartement on the northeast. The Gard River is bridged near Remoulins by a Roman aqueduct, the famous Pont du Gard, that brought water to Nmes, the departmental capital, from springs near Uzs, a picturesque medieval town. Roman civilization brought economic prosperity and a wealth of monuments to the region before it was conquered by the Visigoths in the 5th century AD and ravaged by the Saracens in the 8th century. Louis IX acquired land from local monks in the 13th century and built the fortified harbour town of Aigues-Mortes (q.v.), from which he set out on two Crusades. Other points of interest include Villeneuve-ls-Avignon, on the Rhne opposite Avignon, and Beaucaire, on the Rhne opposite Tarascon. The dpartement produces good wines (Ctes-du-Rhne, Tavel), and some of its ewe's milk goes to Roquefort cheese factories in neighbouring Aveyron dpartement. Industries (steel, aluminum, textiles, and electrical equipment) have been established mainly in the Nmes area and around Als, a former coal mining centre on the Gard, which is also a tourist centre. The oldest of France's nuclear power plants is at Marcoule. The dpartement has three arrondissements: Nmes, Als, and Le Vigan. Area 2,260 square miles (5,853 square km). Pop. (1990) 585,282; (1994 est.) 605,847.