BASSES-PYRENEES, the extreme south-west department of France, bounded on the north by Landes and Gers, east by Hautes-Pyrenees, south by Spain and west by the sea. Area sq.miles. Pop. (1931) 422,719. The Pyrenean crestline as elsewhere generally bounds Spain but there are importan' fortified passes, notably that of Somport and the historic one of Ronce vaux (see RONCESVALLES) control of which was the strength of the mediaeval kingdom of Navarre. The peaks rise from Rhune (2,95oft.) eastward to Mourrons (9, 76of t.) . The whole of the Nive, Bidouze and the lower part of Gave de Pau, southern feed ers of the Adour river, are in the department, with deep valleys among the mountains broadening out toward the north-west. The Adour below its junction with the large glacier-fed Gave de Pau is tidal and navigable and forms the boundary of the department. To the north of the complex rock systems of the Pyrenean axis the department is largely floored in the west by calcareous rock, but from the outlet of the great Gave de Pau from the mountains (at Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrenees), as well as from the similar outlet of the Adour farther east, a huge mass of mud and boulders has spread fanwise and is drained by radial streams. Beyond this fan is a sandy area.
The ancient Basque tongue still survives west of Oloron and Tardets with distribution determined by the passes of Ronce vaux and the Bidassoa, and this region is also marked by its farm houses with windows and frontage under the gable which has one side of the roof very long to cover the barn and stable, small because the animals can remain out. In Beam on the other hand we have the courtyard-farm near the Gaves, and poorer cottages, transitional to the Basque type, on the hills. Mild rainy weather specially marks the Basque country, the rain continuing in spring. The climate promotes stock-raising, but maize, wheat, potatoes and flax are grown, also apples, pears, chestnuts and vegetables and some vines in the less moist east, in shelter near Pau. Woods are numerous. Besides determining the agricultural interests, the climate has created a tourist interest. Pau is a famous health resort and many visitors winter at S. Jean de Luz or Biarritz on the coast. There are also mineral springs at Eaux-Bonnes, Eaux-Chaudes, Cambo-les-Bains, S. Christau and Salies.
The department has three arrondissements, Pau (q.v.) with capital at Pau which is also the departmental capital; Bayonne (q.v.) with capital of that name, the diocesan centre and chief port ; and Oloron (q.v.) with capital of same name. Biarritz, Orthez, Eaux Bonnes and S. Jean de Luz (q.v.) are other towns. St. Jean-Pied-de-Port (pop. 1,317), the historic fortress at the foot of the pass or "port" de Roncevaux, founded in the I 1 th century, was the capital of French Navarre until the Revolution. It is on the Route des Pyrenees. The department belongs to the educational region of Bordeaux and is part of the region of the XVIII. Army Corps.
Fisheries have some importance and Bayonne exports pit-props and timber products from the Landes, etc., and minerals such as salt from the hills, and it imports coal, fertilizers, etc. Le Boucau near Bayonne has chemical and metallurgical works whose output is increasing.