| Landes of Gascony (Lanas de Gasconha (oc)) | |
 | |
| The Landes forest | |
| Information | |
| Country |  France |
|---|---|
| Region | New Aquitaine |
| Area | 14 000 km² |
| Location | |
 44 ° 12 ′ 48 ″ N 0 ° 55 ′ 5 ″ W | |
| Touristic site | |
The Landes of Gascony are a natural region located in the South West of France in New Aquitaine.
Understand
The Landes de Gascogne is a natural region at the outlet of the Aquitaine basin to the ocean. It is characterized by a sandy soil deposited by ocean winds on an inclined sedimentary plateau.
The Landes forest covers nearly a million hectares, a vast triangle stretching from Soulac to Bayonne and as far as Nérac. It covers most of the departments of Gironde, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne. The pine forest as we know it today covered only 200 000 Ha before the systematic afforestation of the dunes and the plain, modifies this landscape. But nowadays, maritime pine, a largely predominant species, represents 80% of the trees that make up the forest.
The Landes de Gascogne is a territory united by geographical, geological (the sandy plain of the moors), biological (the forest of the moors), linguistic (the Gascon) and cultural links. Within this uniform set we find various small "countries" which constitute what one could call "micro-particularisms". For example in Gironde we find the Médoc with its forest fringe and wine fringe, the Buch country constituted by the Arcachon bay and the valley of Eyre, the Landes of Bordeaux and the Landes of Bazadais.
The Landes de Gascogne used to be made up of a few areas of forests similar to that which we know today (mainly by the sea) but above all of marshy lands traversed by shepherds perched on their stilts watching over their herds. They cultivated rye and millet, the staple of their diet.e century, the law of June 1857 imposed on the municipalities of the Landes de Gascogne to afforest their territories in order to clean up the marshes and fix the mobile sands on the dunes of the coast. This is how the region was profoundly transformed. In a century, 1 million hectares of forests will cover the territory. It was then that gemmage, a process which used to harvest resin from maritime pine in order to extract the essence of turpentine, became widespread. This profession will somehow feed thousands of families until the early 1990s when gemmage was definitively abandoned.
Today the exploitation of the forest for the paper industry and tourism are the main economic activities of the region.
Departments
Cities
- Born country
- Marensin
- Maremne
- Landes of Dax
- Small Landes
To go
Highway A10 leads south to Bordeaux. TheA63 crosses the Landes from Bordeaux to Spain
The TGV connects Paris to Bordeaux, Arcachon and Bayonne. Mont de Marsan and Dax are also served by train
Airport: Bordeaux-Mérignac
Circulate
Speak
- French
- Gascon (vernacular language, still in use in rural areas).
See
- Medoc: part to the north of the Landes de Gascogne, you will find the two faces of the Médoc: the forest Médoc with its endless beaches and lakes, and the wine-growing Médoc, renowned for the quality of its wines
- The Arcachon bay
- Cap-Ferret
- The Dune of Pyla
- bird island
- Arcachon
- The Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park
- The Ornithological Park of Teich, in the Leyre delta
- The Marquèze ecomuseum, you will find reconstructed the life of the Landes in the 19th centurye century
- Luxey's resinous products workshop, gem distillation
- Coastal seaside resorts: from Soulac in the north to Tarnos in the south, 230 km of fine sandy beaches.
Make
Buy
Eat
- foie gras
- duck breast
- oysters from Arcachon bay
- Landes salad (candied gizzards, corn, pine nuts, smoked duck breasts)
- Confit duck legs
- Tourtière de Gascogne with Armagnac (apple puff pastry)
Drinks
- the Floc de Gascogne
- the Lillet
Housing
- Many campsites for all budgets
- Guest rooms
- Hotels. On the coast in summer, book well in advance.
Health
Communicate
Around
- Bordeaux
- Bayonne and the Pays Basque
