Editing Aude (section)

==Geography==

===Location===
Aude is located between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the [[Pyrenees|Pyrenees Mountains]].

It is part of the current region of [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitanie]]. It is surrounded by the departments of [[Pyrénées-Orientales]], [[Ariège (department)|Ariège]], [[Haute-Garonne]], [[Tarn (department)|Tarn]], and [[Hérault]], with the [[Golfe du Lion]] on the east.

===Natural regions===
[[File:Carte Aude region naturelle.png|thumb|Natural regions of the Aude]]
The countryside in this department falls into several [[natural region]]s:
* 1 – [[Lauragais]]
* 2 – [[Montagne Noire]]
* 3 – [[Cabardès]]
* 4 – [[Carcassonne|Carcassonais]]
* 5 – [[Razès]]
* 6 – [[Quercorb]]
* 7 – [[Pays de Sault]]
* 8 – [[Minervois]]
* 9 – [[Corbières, Aude|Corbières]]
* 10 – [[Narbonnais]]

===Landscapes===
[[File:Quillan.jpg|thumb|Mountain landscape in the [[Razès]] at [[Quillan]]]]
Each natural region of the Aude has its own particular landscape. In the east, lagoons or coastal lakes separate land and sea. These were formed by accumulations of sediments carried down by the rivers Aude, [[Orb (river)|Orb]] and [[Hérault (river)|Hérault]]. There are many such lakes of brackish water. This environment is demanding for flora and fauna, as it suffers from the rigours of sea, sun, dryness and floods. [[Halophile]] (i.e., salt-loving) plants grow there. The area is also noted for the pink [[flamingo]] and the white [[stilt]].

Inland to the west, [[Maquis shrubland|shrub]] and [[Garrigue|scrub]] dominate the landscape of the drylands of the Aude and the [[Corbières Massif]]. This landscape is the result of forest clearance, maintained by the raising of livestock. The flora is varied and characterized by many species of [[orchids]]. The Sault countryside is dominated by [[beech]] groves and [[fir]] plantations up to the mountains. These forests are known for their [[mushroom]]s, and have a rich flora and fauna, including the [[Pyrenean lily]], the [[euproctis]] moth and [[horsetail]] of the woods.

To the north and west, the Black Mountain country is made up of forests of [[oak]] and [[beech]]. The Lauragais is a wooded landscape where grain farming has shaped the hills. There are bodies of water like the [[Lac de la Ganguise]]. Finally, the high valley of the Aude, otherwise called the Razès, consists of a [[riparian forest]] made of beech, [[alder]], [[Populus|poplar]] or [[Fraxinus|ash]]. It includes some [[peatlands]] that are very rare in southern France.

===Geology===
[[File:Aude (flume).png|thumb|Relief map with some main towns]]
The landscapes of Aude can be explained by its geology. In the south, there are [[sedimentary rocks]] folded during the formation of the Pyrenees. To the north and centre of Aude, the sedimentary rocks are less folded. At the extreme east, near the Mediterranean, the rocks are carved by normal collapse [[fault (geology)|faults]] which are due to the opening of the Golfe du Lion.

In the north, the Black Mountain and Minervois consist of [[schist]] and [[marble]], forming the southern edge of the [[Massif Central]]. These ancient rocks are over 300&nbsp;million years old and were deformed by the formation of the [[Variscan orogeny|Hercynian]] chain. The Montagne d'Alaric ([[Alaric II|Alaric]]'s Mountain)<ref>''{{cite web |title=The legend of the treasure of Alaric |url=http://www.rhedesium.com/the-legend-of-the-treasure-of-alaric.html |url-status=dead |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-date=27 December 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171227235811/https://www.rhedesium.com/the-legend-of-the-treasure-of-alaric.html }}''</ref> near Carcassonne is an [[anticline|antiform fold]] in the shape of a vault and made of [[limestone]].

===Climate===
[[File:Port and lighthouse overnight storm with lightning in Port-la-Nouvelle.jpg|thumb|Lightning during an autumn storm off the coast of [[Port-la-Nouvelle]].]]
Aude is under the influence of a Mediterranean climate.

The autumn is characterized by violent and short storms.
The summer is often hot and dry, which is favorable to the culture of the vine and the olive-trees. Yet, the department has several contrasts in climate:
In the north, the Montagne Noire and, in the south, the Pays de Sault, have a mountainous climate with temperatures sometimes very low in winter.
In the west, the climate is under Aquitaine influence with heavier precipitation, while in the east the climate is purely Mediterranean.
In the centre, in the Limouxin, Carcassonnais and Razès areas, the climate is known as intermediary with significant exposure to winds.
The winds are often present in Aude. It is one of the windiest French departments, with 300 to 350 days of wind per year. This phenomenon is due mostly to the variations in relief north and south which create a kind of corridor.

In the north-west blows the [[Cers (wind)|Cers]], called Tramontane in Provence, which is a ground wind. It is a dry, somewhat violent wind and cold in winter. In the south-east blows the Autan, locally called the [[Marin (wind)|Marin]], which is hot and wet and comes from the sea.

These regular winds made it possible to install an industrial park of [[wind turbine]]s, as in the area of Avignonet-Lauragais.

{{Meteo France
|Town=Carcassonne<ref>[http://www.lameteo.org/index.php/climatologie/1589-normales-climatiques-1981-2010-carcassonne Data from the Station at Carcassonne] from 1981 to 2010 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
|Sunshine=2,130
|Rain=584
|Snow=7
|Storm=19
|Fog=14
}}

{{Weather box
|location = Carcassonne
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 9.7
|Feb high C = 11.1
|Mar high C = 14.4
|Apr high C = 17.0
|May high C = 21.0
|Jun high C = 25.4
|Jul high C = 28.6
|Aug high C = 28.3
|Sep high C = 24.5
|Oct high C = 19.3
|Nov high C = 13.5
|Dec high C = 10.3
|year high C = 18.6
|Jan mean C = 6.4
|Feb mean C = 7.4
|Mar mean C = 10.0
|Apr mean C = 12.4
|May mean C = 16.2
|Jun mean C = 20.1
|Jul mean C = 22.9
|Aug mean C = 22.7
|Sep mean C = 19.3
|Oct mean C = 15.3
|Nov mean C = 10.1
|Dec mean C = 7.1
|year mean C = 14.2
|Jan low C = 3.1
|Feb low C = 3.6
|Mar low C = 5.6
|Apr low C = 7.7
|May low C = 11.4
|Jun low C = 14.8
|Jul low C = 17.2
|Aug low C = 17.0
|Sep low C = 14.0
|Oct low C = 11.2
|Nov low C = 6.6
|Dec low C = 3.8
|year low C = 9.7
|Jan precipitation mm = 62.0
|Feb precipitation mm = 47.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 47.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 66.3
|May precipitation mm = 55.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 40.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 22.7
|Aug precipitation mm = 37.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 38.8
|Oct precipitation mm = 54.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 52.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 59.8
|year precipitation mm = 583.5
|Jan precipitation days = 9.1
|Feb precipitation days = 7.2
|Mar precipitation days = 7.5
|Apr precipitation days = 9.5
|May precipitation days = 7.4
|Jun precipitation days = 4.9
|Jul precipitation days = 3.8
|Aug precipitation days = 5.3
|Sep precipitation days = 5.2
|Oct precipitation days = 7.7
|Nov precipitation days = 8.4
|Dec precipitation days = 8.6
|year precipitation days = 84.6
|unit precipitation days = 1&nbsp;mm
|Jan sun = 94.7
|Feb sun = 116.5
|Mar sun = 168.9
|Apr sun = 186.6
|May sun = 209.8
|Jun sun = 253.1
|Jul sun = 276.5
|Aug sun = 260.8
|Sep sun = 218.6
|Oct sun = 147.4
|Nov sun = 103.1
|Dec sun = 93.5
|year sun = 2129.5
|source 1 = [http://www.lameteo.org/index.php/climatologie/1589-normales-climatiques-1981-2010-carcassonne Meteorological data for Carcassonne - 126m altitude, from 1981 to 2010] January 2015 {{in lang|fr}}
}}

===Hydrography===
The drainage system of Aude is dominated by its river of the same name. The river rises at the Roc d'Aude and passes through the [[Matemale]] and [[Puyvalador]] dams on the [[Capcir]] plateau at 1500m, then crosses the department from south to north across Axat, Limoux, and Quillan following the upper valley of the Aude. At Carcassonne, the river changes direction toward the Mediterranean Sea to the east, where it empties near [[Fleury, Aude|Fleury]].