Massif Central

Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,351 (2023). Its metropolitan area () had 510,669 inhabitants in 2022. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme département. Julien Bony is its current mayor.

Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: Sant-Etiève), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015.

Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest administrative region in France by area, located in the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. It was created in 2014 from the merger of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes in a territorial reform. The region covers , representing more than of Metropolitan France, and had a population of 6,033,952 in 2020. The new region was formally established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.

Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Allier ( , ; ; ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after the river Allier, it had a population of 333,298 in 2023. Moulins is the prefecture; Montluçon and Vichy are the subprefectures. Its INSEE and post code is 03.

Haute-Garonne (; , ; Upper Garonne) is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. In 2023, it had a population of 1,471,468.

Aude ( ; ; ) is a department in southern France, located in Occitania and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Cathar Country" (French: Pays cathare) after a group of religious dissidents active in the 12th to 14th centuries.

Hérault (; , ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the river Hérault, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,230,289 in 2023.

administrative region of France

Ardèche (; , ; ) is a department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 334,231 as of 2023. Its prefecture is in Privas, but its largest city is Annonay.

French department

Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 770,940 as of 2023; its prefecture is Nîmes.

French department

French department

Haute-Loire (; or Naut Leir; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme. In 2023, it had a population of 228,654; its inhabitants are called Altiligériens in French (English : Altiligerians).

Aveyron (; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as Aveyronnais (masculine) or Aveyronnaises (feminine) in French. The inhabitants of Aveyron's prefecture, Rodez, are called Ruthénois, based upon the first settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of and a population of 279,609 (2023), Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of .

Cantal (; or ) is a rural department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians ( or ''''). Cantal borders the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Lot, Lozère and Corrèze, in the Massif Central natural region.

Puy-de-Dôme (; or lo Puèi Domat) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2023, it had a population of 664,453. Its prefecture is Clermont-Ferrand and subprefectures are Ambert, Issoire, Riom, and Thiers.

French department

Haute-Vienne (; or ), also translated as Upper Vienne, is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture and largest city in the department is Limoges, the other towns in the department each having fewer than twenty thousand inhabitants. Haute-Vienne had a population of 373,167 in 2023.

Lozère (; ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, and the northwest by Cantal. It is named after Mont Lozère. With 76,486 inhabitants as of 2023, Lozère is the least populous French department.

Corrèze (; ) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, on the border with Occitania and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Corrèze to the south, and Haute-Vienne to the west. With 115,527 inhabitants (2023), it is the second least populated department of France. Creuse is one of the most rural and sparsely populated departments in France, with a population density of .

administrative region of France (1956-2015)

elevated region in south-central France

Roquefort (; Languedocien: Ròcafòrt) is a sheep-milk blue cheese from southern France. Though, within differences between legal roqueforts, indistinguishable cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon (in the Occitania region) may bear the name "Roquefort", as it is a recognised geographical indication, and has a protected designation of origin.

Annonay (; ) is a commune and largest town in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital which is the smaller town of Privas. Other communes in the Ardèche department are Aubenas, Guilherand-Granges, and Tournon-sur-Rhône.

Roquefort-sur-Soulzon (; , ) is a commune in the Aveyron department, in the region of Occitania, southern France.

Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. It is now largely part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes administrative region.

cattle breed

Cantal cheese is an uncooked firm cheese produced in the Auvergne region of central France.

French semi-hard com milk cheese originating from Salers, located in the Massif Central, central France

Picodon () is a goats-milk cheese made in the region around the Rhône in southern France. The name means "spicy" in Occitan.

Pélardon (), formerly called paraldon, pélardou and also péraudou, is a French cheese from the Cévennes range of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is a traditional cheese made from goat's milk. It is round soft-ripened cheese covered in a white mold (à pâte molle à croûte fleurie) weighing approximately 60 grams, with a diameter of 60–70 mm and a height of 22–27 mm. Pélardon has benefited from ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) status since August 2000.

thumb|200px|The village of Usson on the edge of the Limagne plain The Limagne (; ) is a large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It mainly lies within the départements of Puy-de-Dôme, Allier and Haute-Loire. The term is sometimes used to include this, and three other less extensive plains, that lie along the valley of the Allier, in which case the first is known as Grande Limagne to distinguish it from the others. The name is derived from the Latin Lacus Magnus, or large lake.

right|thumb|240px|Typical Larzac landscape seen in March 2007 thumb|right|240px|The Cougouille mount, the highest point on the Larzac plateau (912 m/2992 ft above sea level) thumb|240px|Typical Larzac landscape thumb|240px|Dolomitic outcrop on the plateau thumb|240px|Cross on the Larzac plateau between Les Rives and La Bastide des Fonts thumb|240px|Primula veris|Cowslips and various kinds of [[orchids are widespread on the Larzac area]] Larzac (, ), also known as the Causse of Larzac (French: Causse du Larzac; ), is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central, France, situated

lake in Limousin, France

The Eyrieux () is a tributary of the Rhône in the Ardèche department, France. The Eyrieux runs for . It begins in the Massif Central and joins the Rhône just downstream of Valence.

watercourse

brand of mineral water

international seed and agri-food group

dam in France

province of the former Kingdom of France (1589–1790)

Goul () is a river in the Massif Central of France. The river runs through the Cantal (Vezels-Roussy, Leucamp, Ladinhac, Lapeyrugue, Cros-de-Ronesque, Jou-sous-Monjou, Saint-Clément, Pailherols, Taussac, Raulhac) and the Aveyron (Saint-Hippolyte, Murols) for 52 kilometres. In turn, Goul is a tributary of the larger river Truyère.

The Sidobre is a mountainous area located in the south of the Massif central, in central France. It consists of a plateau made of granite, 15.3 km long, 6.6 km wide and covered with forests. Its highest point is in the lieu-dit “Le Patau” (707 m).