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Lot

*Òlt* (Occitan)
Lot Òlt (Occitan)
Department of France
	From top down, left to right: Figeac, Rocamadour, Faycelles, Lot River, prefecture building in Cahors and Luzech
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Lot in France
	Coordinates: 44°35′N 01°35′E / 44.583°N 1.583°E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Prefecture	Cahors
Subprefectures	Figeac; Gourdon
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Serge Rigal
Area 1
• Total	5,217 km2 (2,014 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Total	174,942
• Rank	93rd
• Density	34/km2 (87/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	46
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	17
Communes	313
	^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Lot (French pronunciation: [lɔt];^[3] Occitan: Òlt [ɔl]) is a department in the Occitanie region of France. Named after the Lot River, it lies in the southwestern part of the country and had a population of 174,094 in 2019.^[4] Its prefecture is Cahors; its subprefectures are Figeac and Gourdon.

History

Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the province of Quercy. In 1808 some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban.

Geography

Lot is part of the region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Corrèze, Cantal, Aveyron, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne. It is named after the river Lot, which in its Occitan name is Olt.

Cahors is the prefecture of the department, lying in its southwestern part: a medieval cathedral town known internationally for its production of Cahors wine, it lies in a wide loop of the Lot River and is famous for its 14th-century bridge, the Pont Valentré. Figeac is a medieval town where Jean-François Champollion, the first translator of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was born, situated in the eastern part of Lot. Gourdon, a medieval hilltop town located in Lot's northwestern part, with a well preserved centre, comprises many prehistoric painted caves nearby, notably the Grottes de Cougnac.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Cahors, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are seven communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:^[4]

Commune	Population (2019)
Cahors	19,937
Figeac	9,802
Gourdon	3,981
Pradines	3,562
Gramat	3,469
Saint-Céré	3,414
Souillac	3,201

Demographics

The inhabitants of Lot are called Lotois and Lotoises in French. Population development since 1801:

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1801	261,207	—
1806	268,149	+0.53%
1821	275,296	+0.18%
1831	284,505	+0.33%
1841	287,739	+0.11%
1851	296,224	+0.29%
1861	295,542	−0.02%
1872	281,404	−0.44%
1881	280,269	−0.04%
1891	253,939	−0.98%
1901	226,720	−1.13%
1911	205,769	−0.96%
1921	176,889	−1.50%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1931	166,637	−0.60%
1936	162,572	−0.49%
1946	154,897	−0.48%
1954	147,754	−0.59%
1962	149,929	+0.18%
1968	151,198	+0.14%
1975	150,778	−0.04%
1982	154,533	+0.35%
1990	155,816	+0.10%
1999	160,197	+0.31%
2006	169,533	+0.81%
2011	174,754	+0.61%
2016	173,347	−0.16%