Aquitaine

**Aquitaine** (Occitan: _Aquitània_; ; ) is a part of southwestern France. It was once an administrative region but is now part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. With over 41,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest regions of mainland France (the largest of all French regions is French Guiana, in South America).

Its capital was Bordeaux, the largest city. The French name of the people living in the region is _Aquitain_.

The five departments in the region were Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

## Geography

The Aquitaine region was the third largest region of Metropolitan France, after Midi-Pyrénées and Rhône-Alpes. Its area was . It bordered with three French regions: Poitou-Charentes to the north, Limousin to the northeast and Midi-Pyrénées to the east. To the south is Spain (Aragon and Navarre) and to the west the Atlantic Ocean. The coast along the Atlantic Ocean, part of the Bay of Biscay, is called the **Côte d'Argent** (_Silver Coast_).

The Greenwich Meridian passes through Aquitaine.

Most of Aquitaine is in the Aquitanian basin, a relatively flat and geologically young landscape. High mountains are found only in the south of Aquitaine, in the Pyrenees mountain range. The Pic Palas (), at , is the highest point of Aquitaine; it is on the border with Spain.

The main rivers of the region are the Garonne, that flows through the Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne departments; the Dordogne, that flows through the Dordogne and Gironde departments; the Lot, that flows through the Lot-et-Garonne department; the Dropt, that flows through the Dordogne, Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne departments; and the Adour, that flows through the Landes department.

The climate is mild - except in the high mountains - all year round. On the Atlantic coast, the annual average temperature is above 15 °C, in Bordeaux is about 14 °C and on the border of Limousin is still 11 °C. Rainfall is relatively high and is higher in the south of the region.

## History

In the Middle Ages Aquitaine was at times a kingdom and a duchy. Various wars made it larger and smaller. Aquitane came into the control of England when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England in 1152. It remained in English control until 1453 at the end of the Hundred Years' War.

## Departments

The Aquitaine region is formed by five departments:

|Département|Préfecture|ISO 3166-2|Population <small>(2012)</small>|Area <small>(km²)</small>|Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small>|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Dordogne|Périgueux|align="center"|FR-24|align="right"|416,384|align="right"|9,060|align="center"||
|Gironde|Bordeaux|align="center"|FR-33|align="right"|1,483,712|align="right"|9,975|align="center"||
|Landes|Mont-de-Marsan|align="center"|FR-40|align="right"|392,884|align="right"|9,243|align="center"||
|Lot-et-Garonne|Agen|align="center"|FR-47|align="right"|332,119|align="right"|5,361|align="center"||
|Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau|align="center"|FR-64|align="right"|660,871|align="right"|7,645|align="center"||

## Demographics

The Aquitaine region had a population, in 2012, of 3,285,970, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

The 10 most important cities in the department are:
|City|Population (2012)|Départment|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Bordeaux|241,287|Gironde|
|Pau|78,506|Pyrénées-Atlantiques|
|Mérignac|66,660|Gironde|
|Pessac|59,223|Gironde|
|Bayonne|45,855|Pyrénées-Atlantiques|
|Talence|41,358|Gironde|
|Anglet|39,223|Pyrénées-Atlantiques|
|Agen|33,730|Lot-et-Garonne|
|Mont-de-Marsan|31,018|Landes|
|Périgueux|29,906|Dordogne|

## Other websites

- Regional Council of Aquitain official website
- Visit Aquitaine
- Regional information and tourist attractions
- Aquitaine: the cradle of humanity

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Aquitaine
- **settlement type**: Regions of France, Region of France
- **image flag**: Flag of Aquitaine.svg
- **flag size**: 120px
- **image shield**: Arms of Aquitaine and Guyenne.svg
- **blank emblem size**: 75px
- **image map**: Aquitaine in France.svg
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **extinct title**: Dissolved
- **extinct date**: 2016-01-01
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Bordeaux
- **parts type**: Departments of France, Departments
- **parts style**: list
- **parts**: 5
- **p1**: Dordogne
- **p2**: Gironde
- **p3**: Landes (department), Landes
- **p4**: Lot-et-Garonne
- **p5**: Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- **leader party**: Socialist Party (France), PS
- **leader title**: President of the Regional Council (France), President
- **leader name**: Alain Rousset
- **area total km2**: 41308
- **population footnotes**: INSEE
- **population total**: 3285970
- **population as of**: 2012
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **blank name sec1**: Gross domestic product, GDP (2012)
- **blank info sec1**: List of French regions and overseas collectivities by GDP, Ranked 6th
- **blank1 name sec1**: Total
- **blank1 info sec1**: €90.8 billion (US$116.8 bn)
- **blank2 name sec1**: Per capita
- **blank2 info sec1**: €27,583 (US$35,478)
- **blank name sec2**: First level NUTS of the European Union#France, NUTS Region
- **blank info sec2**: FR61
- **website**: [http://www.aquitaine.fr/ Region of Aquitaine]
- **iso code**: FR-B