Northern Catalonia (
Catalan Catalunya Nord) is a term which 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 equivalent term in
French,
Catalogne du Nord, is only rarely used the term
Roussillon (in reference to the pre-
Revolutionary province) is usually preferred. Both
Northern Catalonia and
Roussillon correspond approximately to the modern
French département of the
Pyrénées-Orientales.
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 (Catalan Tec, Tet, Aglí). The districts of Vallespir and Conflent cover the upper valleys of the Tech and the Têt respectively. The massif of the Canigou (Catalan Canigó), 2785&_160;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 (Catalan Perpinyà) accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third of its urban area is taken into account, and is the only major administrative and service centre. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a railway line also links Perpignan to Latour-de-Carol (Catalan La Tor de Querol) via Prades (Catalan Prada de Conflent or Prada).
