Le Pouget

Commune in Occitania, France

Coat of arms

Location of Le Pouget

(2020–2026) Thibaut Barral^[1]Area

13.91 km² (5.37 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

2,099 • Density150/km² (390/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)INSEE/Postal code

34210 /34230

Elevation25–161 m (82–528 ft)
(avg. 95 m or 312 ft)¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Le Pouget (French pronunciation: [lə puʒɛ]; Occitan: Lo Poget) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It contains the Gallardet dolmen.

Geography

Le Pouget is situated on the sides of two valleys, Aumelas and Clermont L'Hérault. The centre of the commune is at the entrance to the medieval circulade. The clay soil favours viticulture. The river Hérault is 2 km from the centre.

Climate

Le Pouget has a mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Le Pouget is 14.6 °C (58.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 680.8 mm (26.80 in) with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 23.6 °C (74.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 6.9 °C (44.4 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Le Pouget was 45.2 °C (113.4 °F) on 28 February 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −15.6 °C (3.9 °F) on 16 January 1985.

Climate data for Le Pouget (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1980−2019)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	22.2 (72.0)	25.8 (78.4)	30.5 (86.9)	33.5 (92.3)	34.9 (94.8)	45.2 (113.4)	41.0 (105.8)	41.5 (106.7)	37.5 (99.5)	33.9 (93.0)	25.5 (77.9)	21.5 (70.7)	45.2 (113.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	11.2 (52.2)	12.4 (54.3)	16.0 (60.8)	18.5 (65.3)	22.5 (72.5)	27.2 (81.0)	30.5 (86.9)	29.9 (85.8)	25.6 (78.1)	20.2 (68.4)	14.5 (58.1)	11.4 (52.5)	20.0 (68.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	6.9 (44.4)	7.5 (45.5)	10.5 (50.9)	13.0 (55.4)	16.7 (62.1)	20.7 (69.3)	23.6 (74.5)	23.2 (73.8)	19.4 (66.9)	15.4 (59.7)	10.2 (50.4)	7.3 (45.1)	14.6 (58.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.5 (36.5)	2.6 (36.7)	5.1 (41.2)	7.4 (45.3)	10.9 (51.6)	14.2 (57.6)	16.8 (62.2)	16.5 (61.7)	13.2 (55.8)	10.6 (51.1)	5.8 (42.4)	3.2 (37.8)	9.1 (48.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−15.6 (3.9)	−10.1 (13.8)	−10.1 (13.8)	−2.0 (28.4)	2.4 (36.3)	5.2 (41.4)	8.2 (46.8)	6.8 (44.2)	3.5 (38.3)	−2.1 (28.2)	−8.0 (17.6)	−9.1 (15.6)	−15.6 (3.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	61.2 (2.41)	52.3 (2.06)	38.5 (1.52)	53.5 (2.11)	53.2 (2.09)	37.0 (1.46)	24.3 (0.96)	36.9 (1.45)	69.4 (2.73)	101.7 (4.00)	75.8 (2.98)	77.0 (3.03)	680.8 (26.80)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	5.8	5.0	4.8	5.8	5.9	4.0	2.2	3.6	4.3	6.6	6.1	5.8	59.9
Source: Meteociel^[3]

History

The village was known for its circulade in the Middle Ages in the time of Louis XIV. The prehistoric dolmen Gallardet (or dolmen de Pouget) is a notable sight in the village.

Population

Inhabitants are called Pougétois in French.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,077	—
1975	934	−2.01%
1982	987	+0.79%
1990	1,103	+1.40%
1999	1,347	+2.25%
2007	1,782	+3.56%
2012	1,823	+0.46%
2017	2,054	+2.41%
Source: INSEE^[4]

Sights

Église Saint-Jacques, Romanesque church (now the Chapelle des pénitents blancs)
Église Sainte-Catherine, Gothic church (now the parish church)
Dolmen
Saint-Amant fountain
The circulade
Château de l'Estang (private property).

Entrance to dolmen

Personalities

d'Alzon family ^{[citation needed]}
Jacqueline Mirande, French novelist ^{[citation needed]}
Jean-Paul Nozière, French novelist ^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 9 August 2021.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ "Normales et records pour Le Pouget (34)". Meteociel. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE