Pyrénées, Hautes

Pyrénées, Hautes, a department of France, lying east of Basses-Pyrénées, is a part of the old province of Gascony. As its name implies, it contains the loftiest summits of the Pyrenees (q.v.), and is divided into the three arrondissements of Tarbes, Argelès, and Bagnères de Bigorre; chief town, Tarbes. The principal rivers are the Adour and the Gave de Pau. The climate is generally mild in the plains and sheltered valleys. The well-cultivated and artificially watered lowlands yield good crops of cereals, leguminous plants, and fruits of every kind, including the grape. Cattle, sheep, and swine are reared. Marble and slate are quarried. In this department are the springs of St Sauveur, Bagnères de Bigorre, Barèges, and Cauterets. Area, 1749 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 225,861.