LANDES

dpartement, Aquitaine region, southwestern France, created from parts of the historic provinces of Guyenne, Gascony, and Barn (qq.v.). Its 3,569 square miles (9,243 square km) front the Bay of Biscay for nearly 70 miles (110 km) in a straight, harbourless coastline fringed with sand dunes and bounded on the south by the Adour River (q.v.). The area also embraces three-quarters of the flat, monotonous sandy plain known as Les Landes. Mont-de-Marsan (q.v.), the dpartement's capital, and the ancient city of Dax (q.v.) lie in the southwest, which is hilly and wooded and has good agricultural land. The oceanic climate is mild and pleasant. Landes has a leading place in France's production of pt de foie gras and asparagus. Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, formerly Pouy, was the birthplace of the saint after whom it was renamed. There is a missile base near Biscarrosse Lagoon and oil wells at Parentis-en-Born. The dpartement, which has two arrondissementsMont-de-Marsan and Daxis in the educational division of Bordeaux. Pop. (1985 est.) 302,000. also called Les Landes, forest region bordering the Bay of Biscay in the Aquitaine Basin of southwestern France, extending northward to the Garonne Estuary and southward to the Adour River. With an area of 5,400 square miles (14,000 square km), Landes occupies three-quarters of the Landes dpartement, half of Gironde, and about 175,000 acres (70,000 hectares) of Lot-et-Garonne. Formerly a vast tract of marshland and moors, it now consists chiefly of the most extensive forest in France. The monotonous, sandy plain was originally covered with lakes and ponds and was bordered by dunes of moving sands. In 1801 the sand dunes were stabilized with plantations of maritime pines. Early in the second half of the 19th century, the plain was drained by canals, and a vast pine forest was planted that provided timber and turpentine. Three-quarters of the forest was destroyed in disastrous fires in 1937 and 1950, but much of the burned area was replanted, and paper mills were established in the region to improve the economy. Great tracts of land were also made suitable for mixed farming. Several seaside resorts have been established, and the resort area was named the Cte d'Argent (Silver Coast).