Ayrens

Ayrens
Ruins of the chateau of Clavières-Ayrens
Ayrens
Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region  Ayrens
Coordinates: 44°59′08″N 2°19′40″E / 44.9856°N 2.3278°E / 44.9856; 2.3278Coordinates: 44°59′08″N 2°19′40″E / 44.9856°N 2.3278°E / 44.9856; 2.3278
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Cantal
Arrondissement	Aurillac
Canton	Laroquebrou
Intercommunality	Aurillac
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Philippe Granier
Area1	25.5 km2 (9.8 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	564
• Density	22/km2 (57/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	15016 /15250
Elevation	517–729 m (1,696–2,392 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Ayrens is a French commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ayrencois or Ayrencoises.

Ayrens is located some 15 km north-west of Aurillac and 5 km north of Saint-Paul-des-Landes. Access to the commune is by road D52 from Teissières-de-Cornet in the south-east which passes through the village and continues west then south to join the D120 north-east of Laroquebrou. The D53 comes from Saint-Paul-des-Landes in the south and also passes through the village before continuing north-east to join the D6 near the border of the commune. The D352 goes north from the village to join the D53 north of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of:

The commune is mainly farmland with extensive forests in the northern part.

The Ruisseau du Meyrou flows from the south-east through the south of the commune forming a small part of the western border before continuing north to join the Eize. The Ruisseau d'Ayrens rises in the east of the commune and flows west through the village to the join the Ruisseau du Meyrou on the western border of the commune. The Ruisseau de Braulle flows from the west of the commune through the centre north of the village to join the Ruisseau du Meyrou on the western border. The Ruisseau de Praniac rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border as it flows west to join the Eize.

Ayrens commune lies on the Paris meridian and on the 45th parallel north (45°0′0″N 2°20′14.025″E / 45.00000°N 2.33722917°E / 45.00000; 2.33722917). It was therefore the fundamental point for the Bonne projection used in the Carte d'État-Major (General Staff Map) in the 19th century.