Pyrenees
Pyrenees names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Pyrenees pir'e-nez, a range of mountains forming a natural boundary
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
pir'e-nez, a range of mountains forming a natural boundary between France and Spain. The main summits reach a height of about 11,000 feet. The range is very regular in its structure. It may be said to occupy a region 300 miles in length and seventy in width. The main axis branches at right angles with regularity, and these branches throw off short spurs parallel to the main range, giving the entire range a fern-leaf pattern. Highways and railroads pass at either end between the mountains and the sea. There are but two intervening passes practicable for vehicles. The entire range is described as a series of terraces, precipices, deep ravines and brawling mountain torrents. The core of the mountains is granite. Limestone and chalk are chiefly in evidence. There are deposits of coal on the Spanish slopes. There are glaciers on the northern slopes of the central region. A number of plants, including a yam, are not found elsewhere. The Pyrenean ibex is confined to this range. The mountain streams are inhabited by a peculiar water mole. Scientists have given considerable study to the bright insects found in the limestone caverns. See Basques ; Bayard
Pyrenees an extensive mountain range in the S
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an extensive mountain range in the S. of Europe, dividing France from Spain, and extending almost in a straight line from St. Sebastian, on the Bay of Biscay, to Cape Creux, on the Mediterranean. Length 270 miles, with a breadth from 50 to 100 miles. The principal summits are Mount Perdu, which has an elevation of 10,994 feet; the Vignemale, 10,820 feet; and the Peak of Nethou, 11,168 feet. There are many passes; the total number, including paths for pedestrians, exceeds 50; but the carriage-roads hardly exceed fi five; and of th these, the most frequented are from Jo Jonquera to Perpignan on the E., and from St. Sebastian to St. Jean de Luz on the W., and from Pampeluna to St. Jean Pied de Port. The passes in the interior are over very high ground; Pineda is 8,248 feet above the sea; Gavarnie, 7,654; Lavareze, 7,350; and Tourmalet, 7,143. The principal rivers rising in the Pyrenees are the Adour, Garonne, and Aude, flowing N., and the Llobregat, and numerous affluents of the Ebro, flowing toward the S.
Pyrenees HAUTES, a department of France lying E
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
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.
Pyrenees BASSES, a department in the S
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
BASSES, a department in the S. W. corner of France, between the Landes and Spain, and having the Bay of Biscay on the W.; area 2,977 square miles; pop. about 435,000. It is divided into the arrondissements of Pau, Oloron, Orthez, Bayonne, and Mauléon, Chief town, Pau. The department occupies the N. slopes of the western Pyrenees. Agriculture is the principal industry; large herds of cattle and sheep are fed on the extensive pastures, and many swine in the wide forests. Of the numerous mineral springs the most important are those of Biarritz, Eaux- Bonnes, and Eaux-Chaudes. The W. half of the department is the home of the BASQUES (q. v.).
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The geography stands: Aneto (Collier's "Peak of Nethou") is still the high point at 11,168 feet, though it lies in Spain, not in Hautes-Pyrénées as Collier's implies. The politics and plumbing of the range have moved on — Basses-Pyrénées was renamed Pyrénées-Atlantiques in 1969 (its population now roughly 685,000 against the 435,000 given in 1921), and the handful of carriage roads has been supplemented by tunnels such as Bielsa (1976) and the Somport road tunnel (2003). The wildlife has fared worse: the Pyrenean ibex that Aiton's called "confined to this range" went extinct when the last female died in January 2000, brown bears survive only through reintroductions of Slovenian animals begun in 1996, and the "peculiar water mole" — the Pyrenean desman — is now classed as endangered. The glaciers Aiton's noted on the northern slopes have shrunk to a few small remnants and are expected to vanish within decades.
Written for this edition, 2026.