HERAULT, a department in the south of France, formed from Lower Languedoc. Pop. (1931) 514,819. Area, 2,402 sq.m. It is bounded north-east by Gard, north-west by Aveyron and Tarn, and south by Aude and the Golfe du Lion. The southern prolongation of the Cevennes mts., composed of Archaean and Palaeozoic rocks, with Mesozoic rocks on the southern edge and in the plateau of Larzac, occupies the north-west of the depart ment, the highest point being about 4,25o ft. above sea-level. South-east of this come hills and plateaus decreasing as they approach the rich coastal plains at the mouth of the Orb and the Herault and, farther to the north-east the line of intercommuni cating coastal salt lagoons (Stang de Thau, etc.). North-west the Garrigues, a district of dry Mesozoic limestone plateaus and hills, stretches into the neighbouring department of Gard. South-west of this is the plain of Pliocene rocks with recent eruptive rocks near Agde. The mountains of the north-west form the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. From them flow the Herault, its tributary the Lergue, and more to the south-west the Livron and the Orb, the main rivers of the department.
The climate is colder and more rainy in the mountains than on the plain which has dry summers with occasional storms. Herault ranks first among French departments for area of vineyards ; the red wines of St. Georges, Cazouls-les-Beziers, Picpoul and Mar anssan, and the white wines of Frontignan and Lunel are famous. Mulberries, olives and chestnuts flourish. Silk-worms are reared. Considerable numbers of sheep are raised, their milk being utilized for the preparation of Roquefort cheeses. There are quarries of marble, limestone, gypsum, etc. ; the marshes supply salt. The most important mineral springs are at Lamalou-les-Bains and Balaruc-les-Bains. Woollen and cotton cloth, especially for mili tary use, silk (Ganges), casks, soap and fertilizing stuffs are made. There are also oil-works, distilleries (Beziers) and tanneries (Bedarieux). Fishing is important; Cette and Meze are the chief ports. Herault exports salt fish, wine, liqueurs, timber, salt, build ing-material, etc. It imports cattle, skins, wool, cereals, vegetables, coal and other commodities.
The railway lines belong chiefly to the Southern and P.L.M. companies. The Canal du Midi traverses the south of the depart ment for 44 m. and terminates at Cette. The Canal des Etangs traverses the department for about 20 m., forming part of a line of communication between Cette and Aigues-Mortes. Montpellier, the capital, is the seat of a bishopric of the province of Avignon, and of a court of appeal and centre of an academie (educational division) . The department belongs to the 16th military region, (Montpellier) . It is divided into the arrondissements of Mont pellier and Beziers, with 36 cantons and 342 communes.
Montpellier, Beziers, Lodeve, Bedarieux, Cette, Agde, Pezenas, Lamalou-les-Bains and Clermont-l'Herault are the more impor tant towns. Among the other interesting places in the department are St. Pons, with a church of the 12th century, once a cathedral; Villemagne, which has two ruined churches, one of the 13th, the other of the 14th century; Pignan, a mediaeval town, near which is the 13th century abbey-church of Vignogoul in the early Gothic style; and St. Guilhem-le-Desert, which has a church of the irth and 12th centuries. Maguelonne, which in the 6th century be came the seat of a bishopric transferred to Montpellier in 1S36, has a cathedral of the 12th century.