Ariège (department)

Ariege (; ) is a department in the region of Occitanie in southern France; it is named after the Ariege 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.
Ariege was created in 1790 during the French Revolution, when the whole of France was divided into departments, replacing the old provinces. Ariege was created combining the counties of Foix (Languedoc) and Couserans (Gascogne).
Geography
Ariege 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 Pyrenees-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:
The Ariege plain. The north of the department consists of plains, small hills and low valleys where agriculture is an important activity. Two major rivers, the Ariege and the Leze, flow through the plain from south to north.
The Pyrenean foothills. This area includes the small mountains and hills below .
The Ariege 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 Ariege river, a tributary of the Garonne river. Another important river is the Leze, a tributary of the Ariege.
Climate
Two main types of climate are found in Ariege:
Mediterranean - particularly visible in the vegetation of the foothills and of the valley of the Ariege 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 degC in January and 19 degC in July. However, they decline rapidly with elevation, e.g. at l'Hospitalet-pres-l'Andorre (1,430 m) it is 0 degC in January and 14 degC in July.
Administration
The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Ariege in Foix. Ariege is part of the region of Occitanie.
Administrative divisions
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 13 cantons and 332 communes (municipalities) in Ariege.
The following is a list of the 13 cantons of the Ariege department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Haute-Ariege (0901)
Arize-Leze (0902)
Couserans Est (0903)
Couserans Ouest (0904)
Foix (0905)
Mirepoix (0906)
Pamiers-1 (0907)
Pamiers-2 (0908)
Pays d'Olmes (0909)
Portes d'Ariege (0910)
Portes du Couserans (0911)
Sabarthes (0912)
Val d'Ariege (0913)
Demographics
The inhabitants of Ariege are known, in French, as ariegeois (women: ariegeoises).
Ariege has a population, in 2014, of 152,574, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. 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 Ariege
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:
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 Ariege 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.