Ariège (department)

**Ariège** (; ) is a department in the region of Occitanie in southern France; it is named after the Ariège river that flows through the department.

Its capital is the city of Foix but the city with the largest population is Pamiers.

## History

The department was inhabited in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the presence of caves with cave paintings and dolmens. In historical times it was inhabited by Basque people; they settled on the northern side of the Pyrenees and in the valleys below. In 415 it became part of the kingdom of the Visigoths, until their defeat at the hands of the king of the Franks in 507.

Ariège was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. Ariège was created combining the counties of Foix (Languedoc) and Couserans (Gascogne).

## Geography

Ariège is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of .

The department is surrounded by the French departments of Haute-Garonne to the west and north, Aude to the east, and Pyrénées-Orientales in the southeast, as well as Spain (Lleida) and Andorra in the south.

### Natural regions

There are three main natural regions in the department:
1. The **Ariège plain**. The north of the department consists of plains, small hills and low valleys where agriculture is an important activity. Two major rivers, the Ariège and the Lèze, flow through the plain from south to north.
1. The **Pyrenean foothills**. This area includes the small mountains and hills below .
1. The **Ariége high country**. The geography is dominated by the Pyrenees mountains exceeding  above sea level which form the border between France and Spain.

The highest mountain in the department is the _Pica d'Estats_ () that is  high and is on the Spain-France border. Other high mountains are the _peak of Montcalm_ (3,077 m) and the _Pic de Sotllo_ (3,072 m).

The main river is the Ariège river, a tributary of the Garonne river. Another important river is the Lèze, a tributary of the Ariège.

### Climate

Two main types of climate are found in Ariège:

- Mediterranean – particularly visible in the vegetation of the foothills and of the valley of the Ariège river towards Tarascon, and in the Sault country
- Continental – in the Pyrenean valleys, with many storms and big differences of temperature between day and night

Temperatures are mild in the foothills, e.g. at the city of Foix (400 metres) the average is 5 °C in January and 19 °C in July. However, they decline rapidly with elevation, e.g. at l'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (1,430 m) it is 0 °C in January and 14 °C in July.

## Administration

The department is managed by the _Departamental Council of the Ariège_ in Foix. Ariège is part of the region of Occitanie.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 13 _cantons_ and 332 _communes_ (municipalities) in Ariège.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|091|Foix|Foix|51,473|2,077.8||135|
|092|Pamiers|Pamiers|73,702|1,315.0||115|
|093|Saint-Girons|Saint-Girons|27,399|1,497.2||82|

The following is a list of the 13 cantons of the **Ariège** department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Haute-Ariège <small>(0901)</small>
1. Arize-Lèze <small>(0902)</small>
1. Couserans Est <small>(0903)</small>
1. Couserans Ouest <small>(0904)</small>
1. Foix <small>(0905)</small>
1. Mirepoix <small>(0906)</small>
1. Pamiers-1 <small>(0907)</small>
1. Pamiers-2 <small>(0908)</small>
1. Pays d'Olmes <small>(0909)</small>
1. Portes d'Ariège <small>(0910)</small>
1. Portes du Couserans <small>(0911)</small>
1. Sabarthès <small>(0912)</small>
1. Val d'Ariège <small>(0913)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Ariège are known, in French, as _ariègeois_ (women: _ariègeoises_).

Ariège has a population, in 2014, of 152,574, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Pamiers, with 73,702 inhabitants, is by far the one with more inhabitants. The other two, Foix and Saint-Girons, have respectively 51,473 and 27,399 inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Ariège**

About 25% of the population lives in the four _communes_ with 6,000 or more inhabitants.

The 10 most important cities in the department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Pamiers|15,518|Pamiers|
|Foix|9,721|Foix|
|Saint-Girons|6,284|Saint-Girons|
|Lavelanet|6,245|Foix|
|Saverdun|4,658|Pamiers|
|Mazères|3,810|Pamiers|
|Varilhes|3,328|Pamiers|
|Tarascon-sur-Ariège|3,322|Foix|
|Mirepoix|3,148|Pamiers|
|La Tour-du-Crieu|3,071|Pamiers|

## Economy

Agriculture is an important activity in Ariege. Only a small part of its territory is used by farmers; only , 27% of its total area, are used for agriculture in the Ariege.

The Ariège plain is the most fertile area of the department; here farmers grow maize, wheat, sunflower and other crops. The other natural regions are not good for agriculture and are covered with forests or are used for pastures for sheep, cattle and horses.

In the Ax valleys, the mining of talc is the most typical activity. This industry is supplemented by tourism for winter sports.

Hydroelectric production is about one-fifth of the production in the Pyrenees. The hydroelectric plant at Aston has the largest annual production capacity in the Pyrenees.

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Ariège department
- Communes of the Ariège department

## Other websites

- Departamental Council of the Ariège
- Ariège 2020 - agenda 21
- Prefecture website
- The Ariège Pyrenees
- Ariege Pyrenees Tourism
- Pays des Portes d'Ariège-Pyrénées
- Histariège - Histoire et Patrimoine de l'Ariège

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Ariège
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Chateau de foix vue ouest.JPG
- **image alt**: The castle of Foix
- **image caption**: The castle of Foix, Ariège.
- **image flag**: Proposition de drapeau pour le département de l'Ariège.svg
- **flag alt**: Flag
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Ariège.svg
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **shield size**: 70px
- **image map**: Ariège-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Ariège in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Occitanie
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Foix
- **parts type**: Subprefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Pamiers
- **p2**: Saint-Girons, Ariège, Saint-Girons
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Henri Nayrou
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 4889.9
- **population total**: 152574
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population rank**: List of French departments by population, 95th
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Ariègeois, Ariègeoise
- **blank name sec1**: Departments of France, Department number
- **blank info sec1**: 09
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: arrondissements of the Ariège department, 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: cantons of the Ariège department, 13
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: communes of the Ariège department, 331
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-09
- **website**: [http://www.ariege.fr/ www.ariege.fr]