Lot (department) in the context of Figeac

A communauté de communes (French: [kɔmynote də kɔmyn] , "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of intercommunalité (intercommunality).

As of 1 January 2007, there were 2,400 communautés de communes in France (2,391 in metropolitan France and 9 in the overseas departments), with 26.48 million people living in them. Since then many communautés de communes have been merged or have joined a communauté d'agglomération, a communauté urbaine or a métropole. Whereas there were 2,409 communautés de communes in January 2010 and 1,842 in January 2016, there were only 989 communautés de communes left in January 2025. The population of the communautés de communes (2022 population data, 2025 borders) ranged from 106,433 inhabitants (Communauté de communes Le Grésivaudan, covering the area between Grenoble and Chambéry), to 3,986 inhabitants (Communauté de communes du Causse de Labastide-Murat, Lot department).

The caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst or Leang-Leang Caves (from the Makassarese word for "many caves") are located in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, roughly one hour north of Makassar city. The village of Leang-Leang lies in a limestone karst region densely packed with caves that contain paintings from the Paleolithic considered to be the earliest figurative art in the world, dated to at least 45,500 years ago.

Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of human presence in several of these caves dating back approximately 5,000 years (circa 3000 BCE), predating the first Austronesian migrations from Taiwan to the Philippines and the broader Indonesian archipelago, which began around 2000 BCE.Among the findings are prehistoric paintings, including red and ochre negative hand stencils. In the Maros cave complex, some of these artworks have been dated to around 40,000 years ago. Similar techniques can be seen at prehistoric sites in Europe, such as the Pech Merle cave in the Lot region of France, dated to around 25,000 years ago.

Labastide-Murat (French pronunciation: [labastid myʁa]), formerly Labastide-Fortunière (Lengadocian: La Bastida Fortunièra), is a former commune in the Lot department in south-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cœur de Causse. It was renamed after Napoleon Bonaparte's brother in law and famed Marshal of France Joachim Murat, who was born there in 1767.

Cahors (French pronunciation: [kaɔʁ] ; Occitan: Caors [kaˈuɾs, ˈkɔw(s)]) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Quercy, Cahors is home to 20,141 cadurciennes and cadurciens (2021).

Nestled in a meander of the Lot and surrounded by steep arid limestone hills, this historic city is home to a great monumental diversity, mainly inherited from Roman times and the Middle Ages; the city's monuments include a historic city centre, Saint-Étienne cathedral, Roman walls and the famous Valentré bridge (a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela). Famed for its wine and gastronomy (truffles and foie gras), this southern French city holds the label of the French Towns of Art and History. The Cadurcian economy is reliant on tertiary services and makes Cahors the Lot's economic centre.

Rouergue (French: [ʁwɛʁɡ]; Occitan: Roergue [ruˈeɾɣe]) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy.

During the Middle Ages Rouergue changed hands a number of times; its rulers included England (due to the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360), Armagnac and Languedoc.

Tarn-et-Garonne (French: [taʁn e ɡaʁɔn] ; Occitan: Tarn e Garona [ˈtaɾ e ɣaˈɾunɔ]) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and Languedoc. The department was created in 1808 under Napoleon, with territory taken from the neighbouring Lot, Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers and Aveyron departments.

The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north. The departmental prefecture is Montauban; the sole subprefecture is Castelsarrasin. In 2019, it had a population of 260,669.

The Lot (pronounced [lɔt] ), originally the Olt (Occitan: Òlt; Latin: Oltis), is a river in France. It is a right-bank tributary of the Garonne. It rises in the Cévennes mountains, flowing west through Quercy, where it flows into the Garonne near Aiguillon, a total distance of 485 kilometres (301 mi). It gives its name to the départements of Lot and Lot-et-Garonne.

The Lot is prone to flooding in the winter and spring, and has many dams in its upper catchment area, mainly on the Truyère, which produce hydroelectric power of strategic importance for the French national grid. Turbining can cause additional variations in flow throughout the 275 km of the river that has been extensively developed as an asset for tourism in the region. The major project to restore navigability of the river Lot was conceived by local stakeholders in Decazeville and Cahors in the 1970s. It meant restoring the many locks, and bypassing the medium-head dams built at five locations along the former waterway.

Gourdon (French pronunciation: [ɡuʁdɔ̃]; Occitan: Gordon) is a subprefecture of the Lot department in the Occitania region in Southwestern France. In 2019, the commune had a population of 3,981.

The small town, not far from Rocamadour, is situated close to the Dordogne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Gourdon has a rich prehistoric past, that can still be seen today through a high concentration of prehistoric sites. It is the capital of the Bouriane, the natural region part of the Quercy, which extends up to the river Dordogne and neighbours the Périgord.