Ille-sur-Têt

Ille-sur-Têt

Ille-sur-Têt

Commune in Occitania, France

Ille-sur-Têt (French pronunciation: [ij syʁ tɛt] ⓘ; Catalan: Illa or Illa de Tet) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales département in southern France.[3]

Quick Facts Country, Region ...

Its inhabitants are called Illois.[4]

Geography

The commune is situated in the Ribéral region along the route nationale 116 and is crossed by the river Têt (in the north), as well as by its tributary, the Boulès (in the south). It is one of the gateways to the Fenouillèdes region (towards Montalba-le-Château or Bélesta).

Ille-sur-Têt is located in the canton of La Vallée de la Têt and in the arrondissement of Prades.[3]

Map of Ille-sur-Têt and its surrounding communes

Geology and relief

The commune covers an area of 3,167 hectares. The altitude varies between 110 and 446 metres.[5]

The commune is classified in seismicity zone 3, corresponding to moderate seismicity.[6]

View looking south-east towards the town of Ille-sur-Têt. The town (in the centre and slightly to the right) lies close to the River Têt. To the north-west of this river lies a granite plateau (of Hercynian date, around 300 million years old), which can be seen here with solar panels.[7][8] To the south-east of the Têt, around and beyond the town, is a series of recent Quaternary river terraces. Beyond (and beyond the commune) rise the Aspres hills, where some formations are over 500 million years old. The Roussillon plain (Neogene and Quaternary) extends to the east (left).
The "Orgues" of Ille-sur-Têt.

The commune is also geologically characterised by the existence in its territory of chimney-like structures which have been named the "Orgues" (organ pipes) of Ille-sur-Têt. These have been cut into Pliocene sediments.[9] The Pliocene outcrop in the commune lies between the foot of the granite plateau and the Têt river, around one kilometre north of the town.[8]

Font de la Vila (or Quatre Canalots), Rue de la Neige, Ille-sur-Têt.

The town of Ille-sur-Têt itself was built on a river terrace which is located just to the south of the River Têt and its current floodplain, at an altitude of a few metres above that floodplain. A number of natural springs occur on or near the northern edge of that terrace, where it slopes down to the floodplain. Some of those springs have been used for centuries as "fonts" (fountains), supplying fresh water to the town and its surrounding area. An example is the "Font de la Vila", which is located at the bottom of some steps, just inside the town's old walls.[10][11]

The river terrace ("Fy" on the geological map) is thought to have formed towards the end of the most recent (Würm, or Devensian) glacial period. The flood plain ("Fz") is of recent (Holocene) age.[8]

Population

More information Year, Pop. ...

Sites of interest

  • The 17th century Saint-Étienne Church[13]
  • The 12th century Sainte-Marie de la Rodona Church[14]
  • The 17th century Hospice Saint-Jacques d'Ille-sur-Tet (Hospici d'Illa in Catalan)[15]
  • The geological site of the Orgues d'Ille-sur-Têt, 10–12 m tall hoodoos[16]

Notable people

In fiction

Prosper Mérimée's short story La Vénus d'Ille takes place in Ille-sur-Têt.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. [3]
    INSEE commune file
  4. [4]
    Pyrénées-Orientales, habitants.fr
  5. [5]
    Notice communale (Cassini)
  6. [6]
    "Connaitre-les-risques-pres-de-chez-moi". Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. [7]
    Genna A. (2009), Carte géologique harmonisée du département des Pyrénées-Orientale, Notice technique, Rapport final, BRGM/RP-57032-FR, in particular pages 417-8. Online at infoterre.brgm.fr.
  8. [8]
    Geological map on Géoportail. With Notice explicative de la feuille Rivesaltes(1090) à 1/50 000, BRGM Éditions, Orléans, 1993.
  9. [9]
    Elisabeth Le Goff, Marc Calvet, Anne-Marie Moigne, Curiosités Géologiques des Pyrénées-Orientales, Orléans: BRGM Éditions, 2018, ISBN 978-2-7159-2660-8, site 8, pages 70-71.
  10. [10]
    Town council website, "Les fontaines" (in French).
  11. [11]
    Font de la Vila - location map.
  12. [12]
    Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  13. [13]
    Base Mérimée: Eglise paroissiale Saint-Etienne, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  14. [14]
    Base Mérimée: Eglise Sainte-Marie de la Rodona, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  15. [15]
    Base Mérimée: Ancien hospice Saint-Jacques, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  16. [16]
    Orgues pliocènes d'Ille-sur-Têt, Inventaire national du patrimoine naturel
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