Ploudalmézeau

Ploudalmézeau

Gwitalmeze
Ploudalmézeau Gwitalmeze
Commune
	A view of the sea, at Portsall
	Coat of arms
	Location of Ploudalmézeau
	Ploudalmézeau Ploudalmézeau
	Coordinates: 48°32′28″N 4°39′22″W / 48.5411°N 4.6561°W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Finistère
Arrondissement	Brest
Canton	Plabennec
Intercommunality	Pays d'Iroise
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Marguerite Lamour
Area 1	23.18 km2 (8.95 sq mi)
Population (2022)	6,440
• Density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	29178 /29830
Elevation	0–86 m (0–282 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Ploudalmézeau (French pronunciation: [pludalmezo]; Breton: Gwitalmeze) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.

The village and port of Portsall is part of the commune. The Amoco Cadiz oil tanker ran aground off Portsall in 1978, causing a large crude oil spill.

Geography

Climate

Ploudalmézeau has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Ploudalmézeau is 11.9 °C (53.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,006.4 mm (39.62 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 17.0 °C (62.6 °F), and lowest in January, at around 7.7 °C (45.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Ploudalmézeau was 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) on 18 July 2022; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.0 °C (19.4 °F) on 28 February 2018.

Climate data for Ploudalmézeau (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1998−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	17.0 (62.6)	20.8 (69.4)	24.1 (75.4)	26.8 (80.2)	28.2 (82.8)	30.5 (86.9)	38.7 (101.7)	32.2 (90.0)	31.6 (88.9)	28.1 (82.6)	21.4 (70.5)	17.1 (62.8)	38.7 (101.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	9.9 (49.8)	10.3 (50.5)	11.8 (53.2)	13.3 (55.9)	15.9 (60.6)	18.6 (65.5)	20.1 (68.2)	20.5 (68.9)	19.2 (66.6)	16.2 (61.2)	12.6 (54.7)	10.2 (50.4)	14.9 (58.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	7.7 (45.9)	7.8 (46.0)	8.9 (48.0)	10.1 (50.2)	12.8 (55.0)	15.1 (59.2)	16.7 (62.1)	17.0 (62.6)	15.6 (60.1)	13.3 (55.9)	10.3 (50.5)	7.8 (46.0)	11.9 (53.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	5.2 (41.4)	6.0 (42.8)	7.0 (44.6)	9.6 (49.3)	11.7 (53.1)	13.3 (55.9)	13.5 (56.3)	12.0 (53.6)	10.3 (50.5)	8.0 (46.4)	5.4 (41.7)	9.0 (48.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−5.0 (23.0)	−7.0 (19.4)	−2.2 (28.0)	−0.7 (30.7)	1.6 (34.9)	4.3 (39.7)	6.5 (43.7)	3.7 (38.7)	3.5 (38.3)	−0.3 (31.5)	−2.4 (27.7)	−4.4 (24.1)	−7.0 (19.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	112.1 (4.41)	82.1 (3.23)	74.4 (2.93)	86.7 (3.41)	65.5 (2.58)	48.4 (1.91)	72.4 (2.85)	59.6 (2.35)	61.3 (2.41)	105.7 (4.16)	121.0 (4.76)	117.2 (4.61)	1,006.4 (39.62)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	15.8	13.1	12.9	13.3	10.5	8.5	11.4	9.1	9.2	15.5	17.0	17.5	153.6
Source: Meteociel^[3]

International relations

Ploudalmézeau is twinned with Cullompton, Devon.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	2,701	—
1800	2,906	+1.05%
1806	2,738	−0.99%
1821	2,881	+0.34%
1831	3,023	+0.48%
1836	3,085	+0.41%
1841	3,209	+0.79%
1846	3,234	+0.16%
1851	3,219	−0.09%
1856	3,220	+0.01%
1861	3,267	+0.29%
1866	3,252	−0.09%
1872	3,148	−0.54%
1876	3,341	+1.50%
1881	3,240	−0.61%
1886	3,205	−0.22%
1891	3,286	+0.50%
1896	3,305	+0.12%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	3,436	+0.78%
1906	3,465	+0.17%
1911	3,725	+1.46%
1921	3,977	+0.66%
1926	3,946	−0.16%
1931	3,867	−0.40%
1936	3,802	−0.34%
1946	4,142	+0.86%
1954	4,177	+0.11%
1962	4,190	+0.04%
1968	4,297	+0.42%
1975	4,464	+0.55%
1982	4,771	+0.95%
1990	4,874	+0.27%
1999	4,994	+0.27%
2007	5,950	+2.21%
2012	6,275	+1.07%
2017	6,297	+0.07%

Source: EHESS^[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)^[5]

Breton language

In 2008, 11.69% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, where Breton language is taught alongside French.^[6]

Amoco Cadiz oil spill

On 16 March 1978, Amoco Cadiz, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), owned by Amoco, split in three after running aground on Portsall Rocks, 5 km (3.1 mi) from the coast of Portsall, resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date.^[7]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
^ "Normales et records pour Ploudalmezeau (29)". Meteociel. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ploudalmézeau, EHESS (in French).
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue (in French)
^ Auke Visser (26 August 2010). "Amoco Cadiz". International Super Tankers. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2010.

External links

Official website
Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
Mayors of Finistère Association (in French)

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[1] "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.

[popref2022-2] "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.

[3] "Normales et records pour Ploudalmezeau (29)". Meteociel. Retrieved 9 June 2022.

[ehess-4] Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Ploudalmézeau, EHESS (in French).

[pophist-5] Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

[6] Ofis ar Brezhoneg: Enseignement bilingue (in French)

[aukevisser-7] Auke Visser (26 August 2010). "Amoco Cadiz". International Super Tankers. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2010.

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