Pierrefitte-Nestalas is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Pierrefitte-Nestalas is in the southern part of the

Lavedan The Lavedan (; in Gascon eth/lo Lavedan, /et/lu laβedã/), or occasionally vallées des Gaves, denotes a mountainous natural region of France, located at the heart of the Pyrénées, and forms a group of valleys upstream of Lourdes. The Lavedan ...

valley in the central French

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

mountains. It is at the point of confluence of the

Gave de Gavarnie GAVE may refer to: * Gave (Melgaço), a parish in Portugal * Gave (placename element), a French word meaning ''torrential river'' in the west Pyrenees * Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), a medical condition * Gabinete de Avaliação Educaci ...

and the Gave de Cauterets torrents, which converge to become the

Gave de Pau The Gave de Pau () is a river of south-western France. It takes its name from the city of Pau, through which it flows. The river is long ( including the Gaves réunis), and its source is at the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees mountains. The ...

. The town is surrounded by mountains such as the

Hautacam Hautacam is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Midi-Pyrénées region. In road bicycle racing, the ascent to Hautacam is known as a tough climb, which is used occasionally in the Tour de Fra ...

and the Cabaliros. It is a necessary point of passage to gain access to either

Cauterets Cauterets (; in Occitan ''Cautarés'', in Catalan ''Cautarés'', in Aragonese ''Cautarès'') is a spa town, a ski resort and a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the region of Occitanie in south-western France. Geography Cauterets ...

or to the

Pays Toy In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a law known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation ...

and

Gavarnie Gavarnie (; oc, Gavarnia) is a former commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, Southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre.Saint-Savin up the Gave de Gavarnie to the thermal site of

Luz-Saint-Sauveur Luz-Saint-Sauveur (; oc, Lus e Sent Sauvaire) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region of south-western France. It lies on the river B ...

. The town later gained some measure of local prominence due to its position, and due to the abundance of water to power small mills. Thanks to hydro power, industrial activities such as chemical manufacturing, aluminum smelting and power generation were developed in Pierrefitte-Nestalas and the adjacent town of

Soulom Soulom is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of ...

during the course of the twentieth century. This was also responsible for bringing the railroad to town. Most of the large industrial facilities were closed or reconverted at the end of the twentieth century and the railroad line was closed. Today, many inhabitants work in

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

or other nearby towns. Tourism is central to the town's economy. Pierefitte-Nestalas also houses a mountain rescue unit.

References

Communes of Hautes-Pyrénées {{HautesPyrénées-geo-stub