Landes

Landes (Occitan: Lanas) is a département in southern France. Landes is one of the original 83 départements that were created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. The Nobel Prize winning novelist François Mauriac set his novels in the Landes. Landes is part of the current région of Aquitaine and is surrounded by the départements of Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers, and Pyrén... more

Landes (Occitan: Lanas) is a département in southern France. Landes is one of the original 83 départements that were created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. The Nobel Prize winning novelist François Mauriac set his novels in the Landes. Landes is part of the current région of Aquitaine and is surrounded by the départements of Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, as well as the Atlantic Ocean on the west. With an area stretching over more than 9000 km², Landes is, after Gironde, the second largest department of the metropolitan French territory. It is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, and attracts many surfers to Mimizan and Hossegor each year. The President of the General Council is Henri Emmanuelli of the Socialist Party. In terms of agriculture, Landes is known for its large pine forests which are the raw material for a timber and resin industries in... less