The vallée d'Aure is located in the French

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...

department, in the region of

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; or ; ) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark. ...

Geography

The vallée d'Aure is part of the pays d'Aure, of which the historical capital is

Arreau Arreau (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the ''Route of the Pyrénées''. Arreau is at the crossroads of the Louron valley and the Aure valley. Geogr ...

. It corresponds to the upper flow of the

Neste Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy; ) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides eng ...

or ''Neste d'Aure''. It spans about 40 km from Sarrancolin to the Spanish border, accessible by the Aragnouet-Bielsa tunnel. * Vallée d'Aure lakes

Main communes

Gouaux Gouaux is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other deriva ...

* Sarrancolin *

Bourisp Bourisp is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or ...

* Ancizan * Guchen *

Guchan Guchan (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other d ...

* Grézian * Cadéac *

Cadeilhan-Trachère Cadeilhan-Trachère (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comu ...

* Lançon *

Camparan Camparan () is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other d ...

Grailhen Grailhen is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other deri ...

* Bazus-Aure * Barrancoueu * Vignec * Sailhan * Estensan * Azet *

Beyrède-Jumet Beyrède-Jumet ( Gascon: ''Veireda e Jumet'') is a former commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Beyrède-Jumet-Camous.Ilhet *

Vielle-Aure Vielle-Aure (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department of the Occitanie region in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune ...

Saint-Lary-Soulan Saint-Lary-Soulan (; , ) is a commune of Southwestern France, located in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitania. Geography Saint-Lary is located in Hautes-Pyrénées 80 km south of the ''départements capital Tarbes, next to the L ...

* Tramezaïgues *

Aragnouet Aragnouet (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. It is near with the Spanish border. Population Transport The Bielsa tunnel under the Pyrenees connects Aragnouet and Bielsa in Spain. It was first opened ...

and the hamlets of Eget, Fabian, Le Plan * Aspin-Aure * Pailhac *

Jézeau Jézeau (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other ...

Mineralogy

The vallée d'Are has the particularity of disposing of remarkable mineral deposits such as byssolite,

tremolite Tremolite is a member of the amphibole group of silicate minerals with composition Ca2(Mg5.0-4.5Fe2+0.0-0.5)Si8O22(OH)2. Tremolite forms by metamorphism of sediments rich in dolomite and quartz, and occurs in two distinct forms, crystals and fib ...

prehnite Prehnite is an inosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 with limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most often forms as stalactitic ...

. File:Byssolite France.jpg, Byssolite File:Trémolite-Barège.jpg,

Tremolite Tremolite is a member of the amphibole group of silicate minerals with composition Ca2(Mg5.0-4.5Fe2+0.0-0.5)Si8O22(OH)2. Tremolite forms by metamorphism of sediments rich in dolomite and quartz, and occurs in two distinct forms, crystals and fib ...

File:Prehnite Vallée d'Aure.jpg,

Prehnite Prehnite is an inosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 with limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most often forms as stalactitic ...

Flora and fauna

The

Aure et Saint-Girons The Aure et Saint-Girons or Casta is an endangered French breed of domestic cattle. The breed name derives from its two principal areas of origin, the Vallée d'Aure in the département of the Hautes-Pyrénées, and the area of Saint-Girons a ...

~ or Auroise ~ is a breed of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

endemic to the valley.

History

Chemin de la Vallée d'Aure

Ski resorts

* Piau-Engaly * Nistos (alpine and cross-country skiing)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallee d'Aure Pyrenees Landforms of Hautes-Pyrénées Valleys of France