Auvergne
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Cultural region | |
![]() Location of Auvergne in France | |
Coordinates: 45°20′N 3°00′E / 45.333°N 3.000°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Area | |
• Total | 26,013 km2 (10,044 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,362,367 |
• Density | 52/km2 (140/sq mi) |
GDP | |
• Total | €43.022 billion (2022) |
• Per capita | €31,600 (2022) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Auvergne (/oʊˈvɛərn(jə), oʊˈvɜːrn/;[2][3][4][5] French: [ovɛʁɲ] ; Occitan: Auvèrnhe or Auvèrnha) is a cultural region in central France.
As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dissolved in 1790, and with the now-defunct administrative region of Auvergne, which existed from 1956 to 2015.
The region is home to a chain of volcanoes known collectively as the "chaîne des Puys". The volcanoes began forming about 70,000 years ago, and most have eroded, leaving plugs of hardened magma that form rounded hilltops known as puys.[6] The last confirmed eruption occurred around 4040 BCE.[7]