Lot

Lot, a department of southern France, part of the old province of Guienne, contains 2,012 square miles, divided into 3 arrondissements. The Dordogne and the Lot are its rivers. The plateau of the Cevennes in the E. slopes to the S.W., and the valleys are fertile. The chief productions are phosphate of lime, wheat, maize, tobacco, fruits, chestnuts, and especially wine, truffles, leather, wool. There is a good deal of sheep-breeding, and milling, tanning, and woollen manufacture are carried on. The river Lot, a tributary of the Garonne, rises in Mont Lozere, and flows W. to join the Garonne after a course of 300 miles.