PUY-DE-DME

dpartement, Auvergne rgion, central France. It was created from the northern half of the historical province of Auvergne and from parts of Bourbonnais and Lyonnais. The dpartement takes in several distinct physical regions in the Massif Central, including three main mountain ranges between which rivers flow in a general northerly direction. (1) The Forez Mountains chain and its prolongation, the Noirs Woods, extend along the entire eastern boundary with Loire dpartement; covered with forests and pastureland, they rise to 5,261 feet (1,634 m) at Pierre-sur-Haute. To the west the Dore River flows through the Ambert valley to join the Allier River at the northeastern border. (2) The Allier River is separated from the Dore valley in the south by the Livradois range, the forested mountains of which reach 3,996 feet (1,218 m) at Signal de Notre-Dame des Monts. As the Allier flows northward, the narrow Limagne valley through which it passes opens out onto a broad, fertile plain in which Clermont-Ferrand, the capital, and Riom are situated. (3) The highest mountains, the Dore Mountains, in the southwest, display extensive ash and lava remains of three powerful volcanoes of the Quaternary Period (within the past 1,600,000 years). They reach 6,184 feet (1,885 m) at the summit of the Puy de Sancy, which is the highest point in central France. At its foot are the headwaters of the Dordogne River, which flows through the spas of Le Mont-Dore and La Bourboule before descending the Avze gorges and flowing out of the southwest corner of the dpartement. The Sioule River, which also rises in the Dore Mountains, flows through gorges across the Combrailles Plateau in the west. The chain of the Dme Mountains extends northward beyond the Dore Mountains. It is dominated by the Puy-de-Dme, 4,614 feet (1,464 m) high, which is the most imposing of 60 tree-covered, extinct volcanic cones in the area. The climate is rigorous, with long winters and hot summers. The dpartement is primarily agricultural, producing cereals, livestock, and fruit. Such industries as rubber, textiles, and printing have spread in the Clermont-Ferrand area, and Thiers has a long-established cutlery industry. The mountain spas and winter sports resorts attract numerous visitors. Puy-de-Dme is noted for its Romanesque churches, including those of Issoire, Saint-Nectaire, and Orcival and the Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand. The basalt Gergovia Plateau south of Clermont-Ferrand, where in 52 BC the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix repulsed Julius Caesar during the Roman conquest of Gaul, is a historic monument. The philosopher Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand in 1623. The dpartement is divided into the arrondissements of Clermont-Ferrand, Ambert, Issoire, Riom, and Thiers. It is in the educational division of Clermont-Ferrand. Area 3,077 square miles (7,970 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 597,700.