( in central
France named after the
Creuse River .
Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the
French Revolution on
March 4 ,
1790 . It was created from the former
Province of
La Marche .
Creuse is part of the current
Region of
Limousin and is surrounded by the departments of
Corrèze ,
Haute-Vienne ,
Allier ,
Puy-de-Dôme ,
Cher , and
Indre .
It is located in the
Massif Central and is permeated by the
Creuse River and its tributaries. The river is
Dam med at several locations both for water supply and
Hydroelectricity generation. Typically for an inland area of continental
Europe , Creuse has relatively cold winters with some snow-fall into April but also hot summers although rain-fall occurs throughout the year because of the relatively high elevation of the land. The topography is principally rolling hills intersected by often steep river valleys. The terrestrial
Ecology is typically cool
Temperate with a species mix that would not be uncommon in the western
UK with
Oak ,
Ash ,
Chestnut ,
Hazel and ''
Prunus '' species dominating the woodlands. There are no commercial
Vineyard s and much of the farming is beef
Cattle (
Charolais and
Limousin ) and also
Sheep .
The inhabitants of the department are called ''Creusois''. Over the past two generations Creuse has experienced the greatest population decline of any French department, from 164,000 in 1960 to 124,000 in 1999 - a fall of 24%.
The major tourist attractions are the
Since the late 1990s the Creuse has become a major tourist destination. The summers are relatively warm, but not as hot as in the southern parts of France. With forests and a few houses dominating the landscape, and very little pollution, many residents of neighboring countries (notably British and Dutch, but also German and Belgian) have sought to buy a property in the Creuse. The housing is not expensive, compared to Great Britain or
Provence , and if one wants to pass a nice, calm and comfortable vacation, the Creuse is the place to go. There is much controversy, however, as to the way communities are established in the Creuse. Large communities of English people are found with little or no link to the outside. Creusois often complain that tourists and permanent immigrants make no effort to learn the language and this is a source of much discussion in the administration of the area.
