Tarn (department)

Tarn () is a French department in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Tarn river.
Its prefecture and largest city is Albi.
History.
Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from a part of the old province of Languedoc.
The new department had five districts: Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals (now prefectures) were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres.
In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the "arrondissements" were created; the department had four "arrondissements": Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the "arrondissements" of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated.
Geography.
Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of .
The department borders with 5 departments, all in the Occitanie region:
While the valley of the Tarn river, the main river of the department, forms a plain, the central part of the department has many hills. The main mountain ranges are the Monts de Lacaune, in the southeast, and the Montagne Noire in the south.
The Monts de Lacaune ("Mountains of Lacaune") mountain range is near the town of Lacaune; its highest point, and the highest of the Tarn department, is "Puech de Rascas", (), at above sea level.
The Montagne Noire (, "Black Mountain") is a mountain range in central southern France. It is at the southwestern end of the Massif Central in the border area of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore () at high. The mountain is within the Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Parc ().
The main river in the department are the Tarn and its tributary, the Agout river.
Climate.
The climate of Albi is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Albi is . The month with the most precipitation on average is November with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of .
The average temperature for the year in Albi is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .
Administration.
The department is managed by the "Departamental Council of the Tarn" in Albi. Tarn is part of the region of Occitanie.
Administrative divisions.
There are 2 "arrondissements" (districts), 23 "cantons" and 320 "communes" (municipalities) in Tarn.
The following is a list of the 23 cantons of the Tarn department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Demographics.
The inhabitants of Tarn are known, in French, as "Tarnais" (women: "Tarnaises").
Tarn has a population, in 2014, of 384,474, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The "arrondissement" of Castres, with 194,373 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants. The "arrondissement" of Albi has 190,101 inhabitants.
The city with more people living in it is the capital, Albi (49,531). The subprefecture of Castres has 41,382 inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Tarn
The cities with more than 6,000 inhabitants in the department are: