The department is the second-largest department in France and it covers theForest of Landes. The southwestern part of the department is part of the wider conurbation ofBiarritz andBayonne across the Pyrénées-Atlantique border.
During the first part of the 19th century, large parts of the department were covered with poorly drainedheathland (French:lande); this is the origin of the department's name. The vegetation covered rich soil and was periodically burned off, leaving excellent pasturage forsheep, which around 1850 are thought to have numbered between 900,000 and 1,000,000 in this area. The sheep were managed byshepherds who moved around on stilts and became proficient at covering long distances in boggy conditions after rain.[4] Most of the sheep departed during the second half of the nineteenth century when systematic development of largepine plantations transformed the landscape and the local economy.[citation needed]
The president of the Departmental Council has been Xavier Fortinon of theSocialist Party since 2017. He succeeded former president of the National AssemblyHenri Emmanuelli upon his death.[citation needed]
Landes is known for its largepine forest which is the raw material for atimber andresin 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.[citation needed]
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