All the great valleys of the Pyrenees are transverse. The vale head is usually at a col' or port,' and the valley extends for many miles towards the north or south, bounded by lateral branches of the mountains. The longest valleys, as that of the Garonne, and the valley of Lavedan, which is watered by the Gave-de-Pau, are near the centre of the great range. Many of the valleys present a succession of basins, or circular hollows, locally called oules, through which the stream which waters the valley winds slowly, assuming a character in keeping with the scenery of these secluded spots. These basins are usually elevated one above the other, and they communicate by narrow and deep ravines, or by a slope or descent more or less steep.
In the upper part of the valleys, where these basins are more frequent and more perfect in their form, they often contain lakes or tarns.
Tarns are numerous on the French side of the mountains; on the Spanish side they are rare. Some of them are in very elevated sites from 6000 to nearly 9000 feet above the eea. The most elevated lake seems to be that of the Pie-du-Midi. Some of them, as the Lake of 0o, are frozen for the greater part of the year. At the head of some of the valleys is found an onle," olla,' or hollow, surrounded by walls of almost perpendicular rock, and forming a cirque or amphi theatre. The most famous of these cirenlar vale-heads is the Cirque of Gavarnie, celebrated for its romantic scenery. [Prakskes, liateres.] The line of perpetual congelation in the Pyrenees, according to Malte-Brun, occurs at the height of 9269 feet on the northern slopes, and 8311 feet on the southern. The climate in the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees varies considerably. It is warmer at the extremities, because of the inferior height of the mountains and the proximity of the sea ; this is especially the case at the eastern extremity, where the olive grows luxuriantly. The winters are short, and in the lower valleys snow rarely lies more than a day or two. In the upper valleys the climate is more rigorous. The lower slopes are in many parts covered with forests of oak and beech ; the pine, the fir, the box, the rhododendron, the Alpine rose, the dwarf willow, and a variety of other trees and shrubs grow higher up the sides. The summers are very warm, and vegetation in all the valleys is very luxuriant Thunder-storms are frequent Many rivers rise in the Pyrenees. Those on the southern side, except a few near the eastern extremity, flow into the Ebro. The
waters of the northern slope, with the exception of the Bidassoa, which flows directly Into the ocean, are carried into the Bay of Biscay by the Adour, the Ariege, and the Garonne ; or into the Mediterranean by the Ando, the Tech, the Tet, and the Gly. There are numerous mineral springs In the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees. Those of Bagneree-de-Bigorre, Bagueres-de-Luchon, Barrages, St.
&incur, in the valley of Lavedan ; Cauteretz ; Eaux-Bonnes, in the valley of Ossau ; Eaux-Chaudes, in an adjacent valley; Ax, in the valley of the Ariege; Alet, in that of the Aude; and some others, are of considerable note.
In the higher Pyrenees small glaciers are of frequent occurrence; they are found adjacent to the loftiest peaks. Avalanches also occur, as In the Alps. The glaciers of the Pyrenees are found on the elopes of the loftier mountains, not occupying deep gorges or valleys, as in the Alps ; neither are they as iu the latter mountains contiguous, but separated frequently by considerable intervals. They are frequently traversed by deep fractures or chasms. Glaciers are found only between the valleys of Arran and Osman, and for the most part on the northern slope of the mountains.
The recesses of the Pyrenees are the haunts of the hard, a variety of the chamois, of smaller size and brighter colour. The bear and the wolf are also found. The slopes of the mountains afford pasturage in summer to numerous flocks, which are driven thither from the plairui or lower slopes where they pass the winter. Medicinal plants abound. The mountaineers are a fine Intelligent race of men. An unhappy and despised race of men, commonly but falsely said to be disfigured by goitre, are found in the western Pyrenees, where they are called Cagots. They were formerly held in the utmost abhorrence an I kept in a state of the greatest degradation : in the churches they had a distinct place which they reached, not by the same entrance as other Christians, but by a side-door made purposely for them. The condition of the Cagots has been ameliorated by advancing civilisatiou, and they are now nearly absorbed by Intermarriage with the mass of the population. Goitre and cretinism are not uufreqaent in the Pyrenean valleys, but they have never been confined to the Cagots alone. The prevailing opinion is that the Cagots are deecended from a tribe of Saracens.