Landes (; oc, label= Gascon and Occitan, Lanas ; eu, Landak) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, Southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, with a long coastline on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

to the west. It borders Gers to the east, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, to the south, Lot-et-Garonne to the north-east, and Gironde to the north. It also borders the

to the west. Located on the Atlantic coast, it had a population of 413,690 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 40 Landes
INSEE Its prefecture is Mont-de-Marsan. The department is the second-largest department in France and its covers the Forest of Landes. The southwestern part of the department is part of the wider conurbation of Biarritz and Bayonne across the Pyrénées-Atlantique border.

History

Landes is one of the original 83 departments that were created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Guyenne and Gascony. During the first part of the 19th century large parts of the department were covered with poorly drained heathland (french: lande) which is the origin of its name. The vegetation covered rich soil and was periodically burned off, leaving excellent pasturage for sheep, which around 1850 are thought to have numbered between 900,000 and 1,000,000 in this area. The sheep were managed by shepherds who moved around on stilts and became proficient at covering long distances thus supported. Most of the sheep departed during the second half of the nineteenth century when systematic development of large pine plantations transformed the landscape and the local economy. One of the most famous citizens of the Landes was the 19th-century French economist

Frédéric Bastiat Claude-Frédéric Bastiat (; ; 30 June 1801 – 24 December 1850) was a French economist, writer and a prominent member of the French Liberal School. A member of the French National Assembly, Bastiat developed the economic concept of opportuni ...

. The Nobel Prize–winning novelist François Mauriac set his novels in the Landes.

Geography

The Landes is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. 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 Soorts-Hossegor each year. It is also home to a château called

Château de Gaujacq Château de Gaujacq is a château in Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territ ...

that was built in 1686. 2015-08 Hossegor 20 (21985111001).jpg, A view of Soorts-Hossegor Contis vue du phare 4.jpg, The Landes forest in

Contis Contis is a village, part of the commune in France, commune of Saint-Julien-en-Born, in the Landes (department), Landes ''département in France, département'' of Ordinal directions, southwest France, on the Atlantic Ocean, which has an extensive ...

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Mont-de-Marsan, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Politics

Departmental Council of Landes

The president of the Departmental Council has been Xavier Fortinon of the Socialist Party since 2017. He succeeded former president of the National Assembly Henri Emmanuelli upon his death.

National representation

In the 2017 legislative election, Landes elected the following members of the National Assembly: In the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, Landes is represented by two members: Éric Kerrouche and Monique Lubin. Both have served since the 2017 Senate election.

Economy

Agriculture

Landes is known for its large pine forest which is the raw material for a

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

and resin industries in the region. The forest was planted in the early nineteenth century to prevent erosion of the region's sandy soil by the sea.

Tourism

Landes is famous for its seaside resorts and natural spots, such as: File:Confluent Mont de Marsan.JPG, Mont-de-Marsan File:Hossegor 2008 (3).jpg, Surfer in Soorts-Hossegor File:Messanges 079.jpg, Beach in Messanges File:Labastide9.JPG, Labastide-d'Armagnac File:ForetLandes.JPG, Landes forest, the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Landes (Department) 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790