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Pyrenees (HAUTES a department of France)

HAUTES, a department of France lying E. of Basses-Pyrénées; a part of the old province of Gascony; area, 1,749 square miles; pop. about 205,- 000. Ás its name implies, it contains the loftiest summit 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 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, Barrèges, and Cauterets.