La Grand-Combe (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Geography The town lies on the opposite bank of the river Gardon d'Alès from Les Salles-du-Gardon. It is 13 km upstream and north of Alès in the Cevennes gardoises. Climate La Grand-Combe has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in La Grand-Combe is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in La Grand-Combe was on 28 June 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 5 February 2012. Etymology In French "combe" is a feminine noun derived from the Celtic noun cumba meaning valley. The feminine form of the adjective grand would suggest the use of a final "e", but here it uses the archaic form derived directly from Latin- this can also be found in the spelling of "grand-mère", and "grand-rue" and in the place name La Grand-Croix (Loire), Grand was the traditional spelling but the "e" was added to modern French in an attempt to harmonise the treatment of all adjectives. The name of the town took the spelling of la Grand’Combe but this has now been changed to la Grand-Combe. History This is a town which grew out of the industrial revolution, The commune was created in 1846, carved out of the communes de Laval, Portes, Sainte-Cécile-d'Andorge, and Les Salles-du-Gardon. It became the seat of the canton 12 years later in 1858. During the Middle Ages, the valley was one of the cradles of the Cevennes coal industry, but it really was not until around 1780 on the initiative of Pierre-François Tubeuf that industrial mining techniques were used. Shafts were sunk, and the galleries were supported with wooden pit-props. The Compagnie des Mines de la Grand’Combe et des chemins de fer du Gard was formed in 1836 by Paulin Talabot (1799–1885). By 1841, the Cevennes line had been built through la Grand-Combe and Alès. The line was extended to Brioude via Chamborigaud in 1867. The company was successful providing coal for the French Navy and merchant marine. It adopted the trademark of an anchor. Domestic coal was also shipped to Marseilles. This was very much a company town, and the workers were provided for from birth to death with