La Cerdanya

Cerdanya
Natural region
Spring landscape of the Cerdanya in Llívia.
Map showing the Higher and Lower Cerdanya
Country	Pyrénées-Orientales, France Catalonia, Spain
Elevation	1,100 m (3,600 ft)

Cerdanya (Catalan pronunciation: [sərˈðaɲə], Latin: Ceretania or Ceritania, French: Cerdagne, Spanish: Cerdaña), often la Cerdanya, is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties of Catalonia.

Cerdanya has a land area of 1,086 km² (419 sq mi), divided almost evenly between Spain (50.3%) and France (49.7%). In 2001 its population was approximately 26,500, of whom 53% lived on Spanish territory. Its population density is 24 residents per km² (63 per sq. mile). The only urban area in Cerdanya is the cross-border urban area of Puigcerdà-Bourg-Madame, which contained 10,900 inhabitants in 2001.

The area enjoys a high annual amount of sunshine – around 3,000 hours per year. For this reason, pioneering large-scale solar power projects have been built in several locations in French Cerdagne, including Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, the Themis plant near Targassonne, and Mont-Louis Solar Furnace in Mont-Louis.

The first inhabitants of Cerdanya probably spoke a language related to the old Basque language and to Aquitanian. Many place names testify to this.

In the first millennium BC came the Iberians from the south. Although their identity is still a matter of debate, some theories posit that they spoke an Afro-Asiatic language, and that they separated from the Berbers in North Africa and moved into Spain and then further north to the south of modern-day France. In Cerdanya they probably mixed with the native inhabitants, and the resulting people were known as the Kerretes, from the native word ker or kar, meaning rock, related to old Basque karri (modern Basque harri), stone.