Landes department

Country
region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
prefecture	Mont-de-Marsan
Sub-prefecture (s)	Dax
Residents	407,444 (Jan. 1, 2017)
Population density	44 inhabitants per km²
surface	9,242.60 km²
Arrondissements	2
Community associations	18th
Cantons	15th
Communities	327
President of the Department Council	vacant
ISO-3166-2 code	FR-40
Location of the department of land in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine

The Landes [ lɑːd ] is the French department with the atomic number 40. It is in the southwest of the country in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine . The name is a plural ( les Landes , département des Landes ; Gascognisch las Lanas ) and is derived from the name of the formerly dominant heathland (French land ), from which since the great reforestation on the orders of Napoleon the largest contiguous forest area in Western Europe has become , known as Les Landes ( the Landes ).

geography

The department borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Gironde department to the north within Aquitaine , the Lot-et-Garonne department to the northeast and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department to the south . To the east it borders the Gers department of the Occitania region .

The landscape of the department is characterized by the largest contiguous forest area in Western Europe, the Forêt des Landes . The forest extends far beyond the boundaries of the department south to the Adour , east to the Garonne and north to far into the Médoc . In contrast to the neighboring hilly and mountainous countries, the Landes are for the most part a lowland plain. The few hills are flat. Much of the forest has been severely damaged since the 1980s, more than any other forest area in France.

The most important river is the Adour , which crosses the southern part of the department in an east-west direction, turns to the south-west at Dax , joins the Gaves Réunis on the border with the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and flows into the Atlantic between Tarnos and Anglet .

coat of arms

Description : The coat of arms is quartered in blue and red . Fields 1 and 4 with a golden running, blue-armored and tongued lion, and in the other fields three pine cones on a golden background.

history

The department was formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 from parts of the then provinces of Guyenne and Gascogne . It was divided into four districts (French: district ), the forerunners of the arrondissements . The districts were Dax, Mont-de-Marsan, Saint-Sever and Tartas. The department and the districts were divided into 25 cantons and had around 200,000 inhabitants. The capital was already Mont-de-Marsan.

The arrondissements of Dax , Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Sever were established on February 17, 1800, the arrondissement of Saint-Sever was dissolved on September 10, 1926 and integrated into the arrondissements of Dax and Mont-de-Marsan.

From 1960 to 2015 it belonged to the Aquitaine region , which in 2016 became part of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.

Cities

The most populous municipalities in the Landes department are:

city	Population (2017)	Arrondissement
Mont-de-Marsan	29,554	Mont-de-Marsan
Dax	20,681	Dax
Biscarrosse	14,182	Mont-de-Marsan
Saint-Paul-lès-Dax	13,413	Dax
Tarnos	12,264	Dax
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont	9,561	Mont-de-Marsan
Capbreton	8,769	Dax
Soustons	7,877	Dax
Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse	7,593	Dax
Mimizan	7,018	Mont-de-Marsan

Administrative division

The Landes department is divided into 2 arrondissements , 15 cantons and 330 communes :

Communes and arrondissements in the Landes department

Arrondissement	Cantons	Communities	Residents January 1, 2017	Area km²	Density of population / km²	Code INSEE
Dax	9	152	226,858	3,194.16	71	401
Mont-de-Marsan	8th	175	180,586	6,048.44	30th	402
Landes department	15th	327	407,444	9,242.60	44	40

Forest area and dune belt of the Landes

See also:

• List of communes in the Landes department
• List of cantons in the Landes department
• List of associations of municipalities in the Landes department

economy

The Landes are the most forested region in France. Two thirds of the department are covered by forests (mainly maritime pines ). Forestry and wood processing therefore play an important role. The main source of income is tourism , which is concentrated in the immediate coastal region with its continuous sandy beach ; the sea offers the best conditions for surfers and swimmers, but is not without danger because of the often offshore currents. Well-known seaside resorts include Capbreton , Hossegor , Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains , Mimizan-Plage and Biscarrosse-Plage , but there are also less crowded sections in between. In the interior of the country, especially in Dax and Saubusse , thermal baths offer the opportunity to relax and take a spa stay.

The local gastronomy offers typical dishes of the region such as foie gras , duck breast ( Magret de canard ) or chicken in a tomato and paprika sauce (chicken à la basquaise ).

climate

Measuring station: Cap-Ferret on the Bassin d'Arcachon, 700 meters from the sea (As the Landes department does not have its own measuring station, the data from the Gironde department , neighboring to the north, was given - although it should be taken into account that rainfall increases, depending closer to the Bay of Biscay ; especially in early summer, strong thunderstorms in the coastal region (French: littoral landais ) are not uncommon)

maritime climate data	J	F.	M.	A.	M.	J	J	A.	S.	O	N	D.
mean maximum temperature	10	11	14th	16	19th	22nd	25th	25th	23	19th	14th	11
mean low temperature	4th	5	6th	8th	11	14th	16	16	15th	11	7th	5
Number of very sunny days	3	3.5	5	4th	4th	5	7th	6th	6th	5	3	2.5
Number of days with an overcast sky	16	13	12	9	10	7th	6th	6th	8th	9	14th	17th
Number of rainy days	13	12	11	9	10	7th	7th	9	10	10	12	13
Rainfall in mm	90	75	70	55	65	50	35	60	80	85	90	100
Water temperature near the coast	12	11	12	13	15th	18th	20th	21st	20th	18th	16	13

Days per year with

• Rainfalls over 1 mm: 123
• Frost: 15
  • First frost: early December
  • Last frost: early March
• Snow: 2
• Thunderstorm: 18
• Hail: 3

As of 1991

Web links

Commons : Département Landes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Landes department (French)
• Prefecture of the Landes department (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Climate data from: Jean-Noël Darde, Plages et côtes de France, Éditions Balland, Paris 1991

• 

  Half-timbered house in Magescq with the typical herringbone clay tile compartment for the region

• 

  Coast at Contis-Plage

• 

  Dying pine forest in the Landes

• 

  Traditional farmhouse type maison landaise

Coordinates: 43 ° 53 ′  N , 0 ° 52 ′  W