PYRENEES (the Pyrenrei Mentes of Julius Caster and the Pyrdnd of Strabo and Lucan), a range of mountains extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Biscay, and constituting a natural barrier between France and Spain. The etymology of the name Is uncertain. An offset which runs in a northerly direction between the Aude and the Lers, and forms in this part the watershed between the Lay of Biscay and the Mediterranean, Is usually said to connect the Pyrenees with the Cdvennes Mountains; on the west, the prolonga tion of the Pyrenean forms the mountaina of Guipuzcoa, Biscay, Asturias, and lIallicia, which terminate in the capes Ortegal and Ftnisterre, and the other headlands of the northwest of Spain. The present article however is a notice of that part only of the system to which the name of Pyrenees is usually applied.
The area occupied by these mountains is comprehended between 42° 10' and 48° 20' N. lat., 3° 20' E. and 2' 0' W. long. Tho length of the chain from Cape Creux, near the town of Roses, in Catalonia, on the coast of the Mediterranean, to the port' of Passages in Guipuzcoa, is about 270 miles in a straight line from east-by-south to west-by north. Tho breadth varies from about 20 miles near the eastern extremity, to about 60 miles near the centre, and to 40 miles near the western extremity of the chain. The Pyrenees pass along the border of the following departments of France, enumerated in order from east to west :—Pyren6es-thientalea ; Ariege ; Haute-Garonne; Hautos Pyrendes; and Basses Pyr6nees. In Spain the Pyrenees pass through Catalonia, the valleys of Andorre and Arran, Aragon, and Navarre.
The range of the Pyrenees may be regarded as consisting of two parts, both having the same general direction, hut not forming one continuous line : the point of dislocation is near the head of the Garonne ; thence to the Mediterranean the principal ridge is more advanced toward the north than between the head of the Garonne and the Bay of Biscay. The point et which the two parts of the chain approach each other is occupied by a group of mountains which unite them to one another. The southern slope of the Pyrenees is steeper than the northern : the ascents on the Spanish side are invari ably more rugged and difficult. The French valleys generally ascend toward the main ridge by a succession of steps and terraces. As in most other great mountain systems the loftiest summits are not found in the line of direction of the main ridge, but at short distances from It, in some of the numerous spurs thrown out on both aides of it. Lateral branches inclosing valleys are thrown off at points where the main ridge rises into lofty summits; while the heads of the valleys are marked by depressions, which constitute the natural passes between one side and the other of the mountains. Towards the eastern extre mity of the Pyrenees these depressions are called 'cols,' as in the Alps : in the central and western parts they are more commonly designated ports.' The principal branches thrown off on the northern side are the Corhieres Mountains, which cover a considerable portion of the department of Aude, on the right bank of the river Ando; the ridge already alluded to as forming part of the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and by a certain latitude of expres sion said to connect the Cdvenncs with the Pyrenees ; and the range that separates the basins of the Adour and the Garonne.
At their eastern extremity in Cape Cerhbre the Pyrenees are about 1470 feet high above the sea; they rise rapidly as they proceed west ward, reaching 1020 feet near Bellegarde ; after a slight depression here, which forms the Pass of Pertus, they swell to the lofty mass of Coetabona, whence springs to northward the spur crowned by the Cauigou, 9135 feet high. The principal ridge attains the height of several thousand feet not far from Mont-Louis, and instead of the hitherto rounded summit terminating in plateaus covered with forests or pastures, it begins to assume bolder and more imposing forms; a crest bristling with peaked summits and scarped rocks, frowning chasms, and precipices become the leading features. Sinking to 5113 feet to form the pass of La-Perche, it soon rises to G394 feet, and increases to 7673 feet near the valley of Vic-Dessos ; here again them is a swell to above,9000 feet, which sends out northward the spur that con tains Montealm, whose summit is 10,513 feet high. From this part to the source of the Garonne in the Val-d'Arre.n the height of the chain is almost uniformly about 7673 feet. After bending round the Val d'Arrao, another massive swell takes place in the main ridge, whence projects to tho southward the gigantic spur containing the 3Ialadetta, which reaches the height of 10,863 feet, and is one of several peaks that are gathered nearly in a semicircle round the Peak of Nethou, or Malahite, the loftiest summit in the Pyrenees, which has an eleva tion of 11,163 feet above the sea. Between the Alaladetta and the Val d'Ossau, the principal chain reaches its greatest height, the crest maintaining an elevation of 8320 feet, while the spurs thrown out north and south contain several very lofty peaks, among which are— the Punta-de-Lardana, 11,000 feet; the Tours-de-Marbor6, the highest of which has an elevation of 10,660 feet; Mont-Perdu, 10,991 feet; the Vignemale, 10,317 feet; the Pic-du-Midi, 9436 feet. In this part also are numerous lakes, glaciers, cascades, and inclosed between the lateral ranges, transverse valleys of great length abounding in magni ficent scenery. West of the Val d'Ossau the summit of the main ridge, as well as of the branches, again assumes the generally rounded form, and in many places is covered with pastures ; here and there however are still seen peaks exceeding 7500 feet in height. The range at its western, as at its eastern extremity, is crossed by several practicable passes, called 'ports,' or eels,' the most important of which are noticed in the account of the French departments named above. The Pyrenees, as considered in this article, terminate near Fuentombla, in the masses which inclose the valley of the Bidaseoa, while the main ridge continues its western course under various names across the north of Spain.