Northern Catalonia

<!-- NOTE ON LANGUAGE USE. French has been used throughout torefer to present-day locations, while Catalan has been usedfor references to locations and administrative entities priorto 1659 -->



Northern Catalonia (, ) is a term that is sometimes used, particularly in Catalan writings, to refer to the territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The area corresponds approximately to the modern French département of the Pyrénées-Orientales.

The equivalent term in French, Catalogne Nord, is used nowadays, although less often than the more politically neutral Roussillon (in reference to the pre-Revolutionary province). Sometimes French Catalonia can also be used.

Geography

Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between the Pyrenees to the south, the Corbières to the north-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by the flood plains of the Tech, Têt and Agly rivers (). The districts of Vallespir and Conflent cover the upper valleys of the Tech and the Têt respectively. Themassif of the Canigou (), 2785&nbsp;m, dominates much of the territory.

The climate is of the Mediterranean type, with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare.

The city of Perpignan () accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third of its urban area is taken into account, and is the only major...
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