For the most part, the main crest forms a political divide between the states of Spain and France, with themicrostate ofAndorra sandwiched in between. Historically, theCrown of Aragon and theKingdom of Navarre extended on both sides of the mountain range.[2][3]
InGreek mythology,Pyrene is a princess whogave her name to the Pyrenees. TheGreek historianHerodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town inCeltic Europe.[4] According toSilius Italicus,[5] she was the virgin daughter ofBebryx, a king inMediterranean Gaul by whom the heroHercules was givenhospitality during hisquest to steal the cattle ofGeryon[b] during his famousLabours. Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his host's daughter. Pyrene gives birth to a serpent and runs away to the woods, afraid that her father will be angry. Alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces.
After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, finding the girl's lacerated remains. As is often the case in stories of this hero, the sober Hercules responds with heartbroken grief and remorse at the actions of his darker self, and lays Pyrene to rest tenderly, demanding that the surrounding geography join in mourning and preserve her name:[6] "struck by Herculean voice, the mountaintops shudder at the ridges; he kept crying out with a sorrowful noise 'Pyrene!' and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back 'Pyrene!' ... The mountains hold on to the wept-over name through the ages."Pliny the Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene toLusitania, but rejects it asfabulosa, highly fictional.[7]
Other classical sources derived the name from the Greek word for fire,Ancient Greek:πῦρ (IPA:/pŷːr/).[8] According to Greek historianDiodorus Siculus "in ancient times, we are told, certain herdsmen left a fire and the whole area of the mountains was entirely consumed; and due to this fire, since it raged continuously day after day, the surface of the earth was also burned and the mountains, because of what had taken place, were called the Pyrenees."[9]
Physiographically, the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections: the Atlantic (or Western), the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees. Together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division.
In the Western Pyrenees, from theBasque Mountains near theBay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, the average elevation gradually increases from west to east.
The Central Pyrenees extend eastward from theSomport pass to theAran Valley, and they include the highest summits of this range:[10]
In the Eastern Pyrenees, with the exception of one break at the eastern extremity of thePyrénées Ariégeoises in theAriège area, the mean elevation is remarkably uniform until a sudden decline occurs in the easternmost portion of the chain known as theAlbères.[10]
Mostfoothills of the Pyrenees are on the Spanish side, where there is a large and complex system of ranges stretching from SpanishNavarre, across northern Aragon and into Catalonia, almost reaching theMediterranean coast with summits reaching 2,600 m (8,500 ft).[11] At the eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as theSub-Pyrenees.[12]
On the French side the slopes of the main range descend abruptly and there are no foothills except in theCorbières Massif in the northeastern corner of the mountain system.[13]
The Pyrenees are older than theAlps: theirsediments were first deposited in coastal basins during thePaleozoic andMesozoic eras. DuringEdiacaran toOrdovician times, Pyrenees were located at the Northwest margin ofGondwana, where they formed a lateral continuity of neighbouring areas, such as theMontagne Noire and theMouthoumet massifs and Southwestern territory ofSardinia.[14] Between 100 and 150 million years ago, during the EarlyCretaceous Period, theBay of Biscayfanned out, pushing present-day Spain against France and applying intensecompressional pressure to large layers ofsedimentary rock. The intense pressure and uplifting of the Earth's crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in theEocene Epoch.
The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely ofgranite andgneissose rocks, while in the western part the granite peaks are flanked by layers oflimestone. The massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant toerosion, as well as weakglacial development.
The upper parts of the Pyrenees contain low-relief surfaces forming apeneplain. This peneplain originated no earlier than inLate Miocene times. Presumably it formed at height as extensive sedimentation raised the localbase level considerably.[15]
Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. The main passes of note are:
Col de la Perche (1,581 m (5,187 ft)), towards the east, between the valley of theTêt and the valley of theSegre,
The nearbyPas de la Casa or Port d'Envalira, the highest road pass in the Pyrenees at 2,408 m (7,900 ft), and one of the highest points of the European road network, which provides the route from France to Andorra,
ThePort de la Bonaigua (2,070 m (6,790 ft)), in the middle of the range at the head of the Aran Valley.
Because of the lack of low passes a number of tunnels have been created, beneath the passes at Somport, Envalira, and Puymorens and new routes in the center of the range atBielsa andVielha.
The metallicores of the Pyrenees are not in general of much importance now[when?], though there wereiron mines at several locations inAndorra, as well as atVicdessos in Ariège, and the foot ofCanigó inPyrénées-Orientales long ago.[when?]Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, but the French side has beds oflignite.[10] The open pit of Trimoun near the commune ofLuzenac (Ariège) is one of the greatest sources oftalc in Europe.
Various samples of Pyrenean marbles
There are many marble quarries in the Pyrenees, most of which were opened by the Romans in ancient times. Quarried intermittently, they provided prestigious marbles such asGrand Antique (used in Rome and Constantinople by the Romans), statuary white marbles as well as coloured marbles used to decorate the royal palaces of the Louvre and Versailles in France and the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain.[16][17]
The amount ofprecipitation the range receives, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees[10] because of the moist air that blows in from the Atlantic Ocean over theBay of Biscay. After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is left dry over the eastern Pyrenees. The winter average temperature is −2 °C (28 °F).
Sections of the mountain range vary in more than one respect. There are someglaciers in the western and snowy central Pyrenees, but there are no glaciers in the eastern Pyrenees because there is insufficient snowfall to cause their development. Glaciers are confined to the northern slopes of the central Pyrenees, and do not descend, like those of the Alps, far down into the valleys but rather have their greatest lengths along the direction of the mountain chain. They form, in fact, in a narrow zone near the crest of the highest mountains. Here, as in the other great mountain ranges of central Europe, there is substantial evidence of a much wider expanse of glaciation during theglacial periods. The best evidence of this is in the valley of Argeles Gazost, between Lourdes and Gavarnie, in thedépartement of Hautes-Pyrénées.[10]
The annual snow-line varies in different parts of the Pyrenees from about 2,700 to 2,800 metres (8,900 to 9,200 ft) above sea level.[10] In average the seasonal snow is observed at least 50% of the time above 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) between December and April.[18]
Aigualluts cascade in Benasque Valley,Aragon (Spain)
A still more marked effect of the preponderance of rainfall in the western half of the chain is seen in the vegetation. The lower mountains in the extreme west are wooded, but the extent of forest declines as one moves eastwards. The eastern Pyrenees are peculiarly wild and barren, all the more since it is in this part of the chain that granitic masses prevail. Also moving from west to east, there is a change in the composition of the flora, with the change becoming most evident as one passes the centre of the mountain chain from which point theCorbières Massif stretch north-eastwards towards the central plateau of France. Though the difference in latitude is only about 1°, in the west the flora resembles that of central Europe while in the east it is distinctly Mediterranean in character. The Pyrenees are nearly as rich inendemic species as the Alps, and among the most remarkable instances of thatendemism is the occurrence of the monotypic genusXatardia (familyApiaceae), which grows only on a high alpine pass between the Val d'Eynes andCatalonia. Other examples includeArenaria montana,Bulbocodium vernum, andRanunculus glacialis. The genus most abundantly represented in the range is that of thesaxifrages, several species of which are endemic here.[10]
In theirfauna the Pyrenees present some striking instances ofendemism. ThePyrenean desman is found only in some of the streams of the northern slopes of these mountains; the only otherdesman, theRussian desman, is confined to theVolga river basin in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. ThePyrenean brook salamander (Calotriton asper), an endemic amphibian, also lives in streams and lakes located at high altitudes. Among other peculiarities of Pyrenean fauna are blind insects in thecaverns of Ariège, the principal genera of which areAnophthalmus andAdelops.[10]
ThePyrenean ibex, an endemic subspecies of theIberian ibex, became extinct in January 2000; another subspecies, thewestern Spanish ibex, was introduced into the area, with the population numbering over 400 individuals as of 2020. The nativebrown bear population was hunted to near-extinction in the 1990s, but its numbers rebounded in 1996 when three bears were brought fromSlovenia. The bear population has bred successfully, and there are now believed to be about 15 brown bears in the central region aroundFos, with only four native ones still living in theAspe Valley.
In 1997, part of the Pyrenees (including Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park and Pyrenees National Park) was inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List for its spectacular geologic landforms and testimony to the unique "transhumance" agricultural system.[19]
An important feature of rural life in the Pyrenees is 'transhumance', the moving of livestock from the farms in the valleys up to the higher grounds of the mountains for the summer.[20] In this way the farming communities could keep larger herds than the lowland farms could support on their own. The principal animals moved werecows andsheep, but historically most members of farming families also moved to the higher pastures along with their animals, so they also took with thempigs,horses[21] andchickens.[20] Transhumance thus took the form of a mass biannual migration, moving uphill in May or June[22] and returning to the farms in September or October. During the summer period, the families would live in basic stone cabins[20] in the high mountains.
Nowadays, industrialisation and changing agriculture practices have diminished the custom. However, the importance of transhumance continues to be recognised through its celebration in popular festivals.[21][22][23]
ThePic du Midi Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at 2877 metres on top of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre in the French Pyrenees. Construction of the observatory began in 1878 and the 8-metre dome was completed in 1908.
The observatory housed a powerful mechanical equatorial reflector which was used in 1909 to formally discredit the Martian canal theory. A 1.06-metre (42 in) telescope was installed in 1963, funded byNASA and was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. Other studies conducted in 1965 provided a detailed analysis of the composition of the atmospheres on Mars and Venus, this served as a basis forJet Propulsion Laboratory scientists to predict that these planets had no life.
Since 1980, the observatory has had a 2-metre telescope, which is the largest telescope in France. Overtaken by the giant telescopes built in recent decades, today the observatory is widely open to amateur astronomy.
TheOdeillo solar furnace is the world's largest solar furnace. It is situated in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, in the department ofPyrénées-Orientales, in south of France. Built between 1962 and 1968, it is 54 metres (177 ft) and 48 metres (157 ft) wide, and includes 63 heliostats. The site was chosen because of the length and the quality of sunshine with direct light (more than 2,500 h/year) and the purity of its atmosphere (high elevation and low average humidity).
This furnace serves as a science research site studying materials at very high temperatures. Temperatures above 3,500 °C (6,330 °F) can be obtained in a few seconds; in addition, it provides rapid temperature changes and therefore allows studying the effect of thermal shocks.
There are two roads each side of the mountains: theE15 road (parallel with thePerthus railway tunnel) near the Mediterranean end and theE5/E70/E80 road on the oppositeAtlantic end, both having opened in the 1970s.[24] No big cities are in the range itself. The largest urban area close to the Pyrenees isToulouse (Haute-Garonne),France with a population of 1,330,954 in its metropolitan area. On the Spanish sidePamplona (Navarre) is the closest city, with a population of 319,208 in its metropolitan area. Inside the Pyrenees the main towns areAndorra la Vella (22,256) andEscaldes-Engordany (14,367) in Andorra,Jaca (12,813),La Seu d'Urgell (12,252) andRipoll (10,773) in Spain, andLourdes (13,976),Saint-Gaudens (11,869) andFoix (10,046) in France.
Both sides of the Pyrenees are popular spots for winter sports such asalpine skiing andmountaineering. The Pyrenees are also a good place for athletes to do high-elevation training in the summer, such as by bicycling and cross-country running.
In thesummer and theautumn, the Pyrenees are usually featured in two of cycling's grand tours, theTour de France held annually in July and theVuelta a España held in September. The stages held in the Pyrenees are often crucial legs of both tours, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators to the region.
Three mainlong-distance footpaths run the length of the mountain range: theGR 10 across the northern slopes, theGR 11 across the southern slopes, and theHRP which traverses peaks and ridges along a high elevation route. In addition, there are numerous marked and unmarked trails throughout the region.
Pirena is a dog-mushing competition held in the Pyrenees.
^AlthoughGeryon was usually located in the mythical west of the setting sun, he was also associated withIberia; according toStrabo, his triple-body was preserved atCadiz in the form of a tree.
^Barnolas, A. y Pujalte, V. (2004). «La Cordillera Pirenaica». Vera Torres, J. A. (ed.), ed. Geología de España. Sociedad Geológica de España e Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. pp. 231–343.ISBN84-7840-546-1.
^Jordi Sacasas i Lluís,Geografia de Catalunya, Publicacions L'Abadia de Montserrat.ISBN978-84-8415-915-5
^Christophe Neff :Les Corbières maritimes – forment-elles un étage de végétation méditerranéenne thermophile masqué par la pression humaine ? In: Eric Fouache (Edit.):The Mediterranean World Environment and History. IAG Working Group on Geo-archeology, Symposium Proceedings. Environmental Dynamics and History in Mediterranean Areas, Paris, Université de Paris – Sorbonne 24 – 26 avril 2002. Paris, 2003, 191 – 202, (Elsevier France,ISBN2-84299-452-3).
^"Pyrénées - Mont Perdu".UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved24 October 2021.
