GARD INFORMATION
GARD Geography
Gard is part of the region of Languedoc-Roussillon and is surrounded by the departments of Hérault, Lozère, in the region of Midi-Pyrénées by the department of Aveyron, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur by the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse, in the region of Rhône-Alpes by the department of Ardèche.
The highest point in the department is the Mont Aigoual.
Serious flooding has occurred in the department in recent years.
Gard (Occitan: Gard) is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is named after the river Gardon (or Gard).
GARD History
The Gard area was settled by the Romans in classical times. It was crossed by the Via Domitia, which was constructed in 118 BC.
Gard is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the ancient province of Languedoc.
GARD Tourism
Gard contains a part of the Cévennes National Park.
There are important Roman architectural remains in Nîmes, as well as the Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct.
The Cévennes National Park (French: Parc national des Cévennes) is a national park, located in southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes.
The park was created in 1970. Its administrative seat is located in Florac at Florac Castle. The park is mainly located in the departments of Lozère and Gard, and covers some parts of Ardèche and Aveyron. The Aven Armand cave is located in the park.
Roman architecture was sometimes determined based upon the requirements of Roman religion. For example, the Pantheon was an amazing engineering feat created for religious purposes, and its design (the large dome and open spaces) was made to fit the requirements of the religious services. Some of the most impressive public buildings are the amphitheatres, over 220 being known and many of which are well preserved, such as that at Arles, as well as the progenitor, the Colosseum in Rome. They were used for gladiatorial contests, public displays, public meetings and bullfights, the last of which survives in Spain. They are among the most impressive remains of the Roman empire at its height, and many of them are still used for public displays and performances.
It has long been thought that the Pont du Gard was built by Augustus' son-in-law and aide, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, around the year 19 BC. Newer excavations, however, suggest the construction may have taken place in the middle of the first century A.D; consequently, opinion is now somewhat divided on the matter. Designed to carry the water across the small Gardon river valley, it was part of a nearly 50 km (31 mi) aqueduct that brought water from the Fontaines d'Eure springs near Uzès to the Castellum in the Roman city of Nemausus (Nîmes). The full aqueduct had a gradient of 34 cm/km (1/3000), descending only 17 m vertically in its entire length and delivering 20,000 cubic meters (5 million gallons) of water daily.
It was constructed entirely without the use of mortar. The aqueduct's stones – some of which weigh up to 6 tons – were precisely cut to fit perfectly together eliminating the need for mortar. The masonry was lifted into place by block and tackle with a massive human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch. A complex scaffold was erected to support the aqueduct as it was being built. The face of the aqueduct still bears the mark of its construction, in the form of protruding scaffolding supports and ridges on the piers which supported the semicircular wooden frames on which the arches were constructed. Various inscriptions are found across the surface, containing instructions used in construction. For example, "FRS II" (frons sinistra II, Latin for "left face 2"), phallic symbols (intended to ward off bad luck), and graffiti left by builders throughout the ages.
The upper levels of the bridge are slightly curved in the upstream directions, a fact long attributed to the engineers wanting to strengthen it against the flow of water, like a dam wall. However, a microtopographic survey carried out in 1989 showed that the bend is caused by the daily expansion and contraction of stones under the heat of the sun, by about 5 millimetres. Over the centuries, this process has produced the deformation witnessed now.
It is believed to have taken about three years to build, employing between 800 and 1,000 workers.
GARD Administration
Department number : 30
Region : Languedoc-Roussillon
Prefecture : Nîmes
Subprefectures : Alès, Le Vigan
Arrondissements : 3
Cantons : 46
Communes : 353
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