Францияның Окситания облысындағы Лозер департаменті

Department of France in Occitanie

Lozère (lɔzɛʁ; ) 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 76,604 inhabitants as of 2019, Lozère is the least populous French department.

Lozère was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. there of Lesura and Gabalis (Lozère and Gévaudan); but its excellence is only very short lived, and it must be eaten while it is fresh. Between 1764 and 1767, the Beast of Gévaudan, a creature believed to be a large wolf or an exotic animal, terrorized the general area in the Margeride Mountains of the former province of Gévaudan (nearly identical with the modern Lozère department).

The main activities are cattle farming and tourism. There is barely any arable farming in Lozère due to poor soil quality. The hardy Aubrac is the most commonly farmed cattle breed here. The region has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in France, which may be attributed to the enforced long standing tradition whereby young people emigrate to cities such as Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier when they reach working age.

Lozère is a rural department, with relatively little land taken up by roads and buildings. Overall the land use is divided as follows:
Forest 43.81%
Heath & other open land 31.19%
Arable land 12.74%
Fields 11.36%
Roads and buildings 0.54%
Rivers and ponds 0.3%

Tourist activities include caving and a variety of sports, such as skiing and kayaking. Lozère contains a part of the Cévennes National Park. Lozère is considered one of the best areas in France for trout fishing. Rivers such as the Lot, Tarn and Truyère are particularly noted for their trout populations.