Landes
Landes (Gascon: Lanas) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. Landes is the plural of the French word lande (in English:heathland); it was named so because it was the most common habitat in the region.
Landes | |
|---|---|
 Prefecture building of the Landes department, in Mont-de-Marsan | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of Landes in France | |
| Coordinates: 44°0′N 0°50′W / 44.000°N 0.833°W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Département | 4 March 1790 |
| Prefecture | Mont-de-Marsan |
| Subprefectures | Dax |
| Government | |
| • President | Henri Emmanuelli |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,242.6 km2 (3,568.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2014)[3] | |
| • Total | 400,477 |
| • Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Landais |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-40 |
| Arrondissements | 2 |
| Cantons | 15 |
| Communes | 330 |
| Website | www.landes.fr |
It is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach that attracts many surfers to Mimizan and Hossegor each year.
History
changeThe department was formed during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with parts of the old provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. It was divided into four districts: Dax, Mont-de-Marsan, Saint-Sever and Tartas. The capital was Mont-de-Marsan.
The arrondissement of Dax, Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Sever were established on 17 February 1800. The arrondissement of Saint-Sever was dissolved on 10 September 1926 and integrated into the arrondissements of Dax and Mont-de-Marsan.
Geography
changeLandes is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, southwestern France, and is, after Gironde, the second largest department of Metropolitan France with an area of 9,242.6 km2 (3,569 sq mi).[2]
The department is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by the Gironde, to the northeast by Lot-et-Garonne and the south by the Pyrénées-Atlantiques; these three departments are, like Landes, of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. To the east, it borders with the Gers department of the Occitanie region.
The most important river is the Adour, which crosses the southern part of the department in an east-west direction; in Dax, the river turns to the southwest and is joined by the Gaves réunis before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.[4]
The forest of Landes is the largest forest in France. It covers about 67% of the department in its northern part, and also covers a large part of the Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne (arrondissement of Nérac). The main species of tree is the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster).
Climate
changeThe climate in Mont-de-Marsan is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.[5]
The average temperature for the year in Mont-de-Marsan is 13.5 °C (56.3 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 21.4 °C (70.5 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 6.2 °C (43.2 °F).
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Mont-de-Marsan is 693.4 mm (27.3 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is October with 71.1 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is August with an average of 40.6 mm (1.6 in).[5]
Administration
changeThe department is managed by the Departmental Council of the Landes in Mont-de-Marsan.
Administrative divisions
changeThere are 2 arrondissements (districts), 15 cantons and 330 communes (municipalities) in Landes.[6]
| INSEE code |
Arrondissement | Capital | Population[7] (2014) |
Area[8] (km²) |
Density (Inh./km²) |
Communes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | Dax | Dax | 220,656 | 3,194.2 | 69.1 | 152 |
| 402 | Mont-de-Marsan | Mont-de-Marsan | 179,821 | 6,048.4 | 29.7 | 178 |
The following is a list of the 15 cantons of the Landes department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[9]
- Adour Armagnac (4001)
- Chalosse Tursan (4002)
- Côte d'Argent (4003)
- Coteau de Chalosse (4004)
- Dax-1 (4005)
- Dax-2 (4006)
- Grands Lacs (4007)
- Haute Lande Armagnac (4008)
- Marensin Sud (4009)
- Mont-de-Marsan-1 (4010)
- Mont-de-Marsan-2 (4011)
- Orthe et Arrigans (4012)
- Pays morcenais tarusate (4013)
- Pays Tyrossais (4014)
- Seignanx (4015)
Demographics
changeThe inhabitants of Landes are known, in French, as Landais (women: Landaises).[10]
The department of Landes has a population, in 2014, of 400,477,[3] for a population density of 43.3 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Dax has 220,656 inhabitants and the arrondissement of Mont-de-Marsan, where is the prefecture of the departement, has only 179,821 inhabitants.[7]
Evolution of the population in Landes
The 10 main cities in the department are:
| City | Population[7] (2014) |
Arrondissement |
|---|---|---|
| Mont-de-Marsan | 31,009 | Mont-de-Marsan |
| Dax | 20,485 | Dax |
| Biscarrosse | 14,174 | Mont-de-Marsan |
| Saint-Paul-lès-Dax | 13,189 | Dax |
| Tarnos | 12,354 | Dax |
| Saint-Pierre-du-Mont | 9,449 | Mont-de-Marsan |
| Capbreton | 8,586 | Dax |
| Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse | 7,717 | Dax |
| Soustons | 7,611 | Dax |
| Mimizan | 6,923 | Mont-de-Marsan |
Gallery
change-
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Surfer in Hossegor -
Beach near Messanges -
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Landes forest, the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe
.jpg)
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ "Le Président" (in French). Conseil départamental des Landes. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Département des Landes (40) - Résumé statistique". Publications et statistiques pour la France ou les régions (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014: Recensement de la population - Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ "L'Adour (Q---0000)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Mont-de-Marsan, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ "Département des Landes (40)". Géographie administrative et d'étude (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ "Département des Landes (40)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ↑ "Décret n° 2014-181 du 18 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département des Landes" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "Landes (40)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
Other websites
change
- Departmental Council of Landes Archived 2016-09-30 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- Prefecture official website (in French)