Cévennes Mountains (France)

The Cévennes ( say-VEN, French: [sevɛn] ; Occitan: Cevenas IPA: [seβeno̞s]) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the départements of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geographical, natural, and cultural significance, portions of the region are protected within the Cévennes National Park, the Cévennes Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO), as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape. The area has been inhabited since 400,000 BCE and has numerous megaliths which were erected beginning around 2500 BCE. As an agriculturally-rich area, but not a suitable location for cities, the Cévennes developed a wide diversity of pastoral systems, including transhumance. The irrigation and road networks put in place in the early Middle Ages for these pastoral systems are still in use today. The name Cévennes comes from the Gaulish Cebenna. As of 1999, there were 165,707 inhabitants in the region, with 20,847 living inside the UNESCO protected zone.: 108  Inhabitants of the region are known as Cévenols, from the adjective Cévenol (fem. Cévenole). The mountain range also gives its name to a meteorological effect when cold air from the Atlantic coast meets warm air of southern winds from the Mediterranean and causes heavy autumnal downpours, often leading to floods. These are called épisodes cévenols.