Capcir is a historical Catalan comarca

Comarques of Catalonia

This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...

 of Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia is a term that 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...

, now part of the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  Département of Pyrénées-Orientales

Pyrénées-Orientales

Pyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...

. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent

Conflent

Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....

 and Alta Cerdanya. Capcir is on a plateau, averaging 1500 metres above sea level, and allows passage between the high valleys of Aude

Aude

Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department "Cathar Country".Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother...

 and both the Spanish Cerdanya

Cerdanya (comarca)

Cerdanya is a comarca in northern Catalonia, north-eastern Spain, in the Pyrenees, on the border of Catalonia with France and Andorra. Within Catalonia. Cerdanya is divided between Catalonian provinces of Lleida and Girona...

 and French Cerdagne

French Cerdagne

French Cerdagne is the northern half of Cerdanya, which came under French control as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, while the southern half remained in Spain . Catalonians often refer to French Cerdagne as Upper Cerdanya...

. It has traditionally been rural, but has developed considerably in last the forty years thanks to its tourist attractions. Capcir has two nicknames: little Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

 or little Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. This gives an idea of the climate which can prevail during the winter.

External links

• Capcir-Pyrenees
• El Capcir in Catalan Encyclopaedia.