Facts about Pyrenees
The metallic ores of the Pyrenees are not in general of much importance now, though there were iron mines long ago.
The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, while in the western part the granite peaks are flanked by layers of limestone.
The Pyrenees are a range of mountains in southwestern Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain.
Politically, the Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west: Girona, Barcelona, Lleida, Huesca, Navarra, and Guipъzcoa.
According to Greek mythology the Pyrenees are named after Pyrene, the daughter of Bebryx and a lover of Hercules.
The stages held in the Pyrenees are often crucial legs of both tours, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators.
The French Pyrenees are also part of the following dйpartements, from east to west: Pyrйnйes-Orientales, Aude, Ariиge, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrйnйes, and Pyrйnйes-Atlantiques (the latter two of which include Pyrenees National Park).
The Pyrenees are older than the Alps: their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.
Of the 107 species of mammals in France, 75 live in the Pyrenees, including the Pyrenean chamois or Isard, otters, ermine, stoat, pine marten, wild boar, and fox.
Both sides of the Pyrenees are popular locations for winter sports such as alpine skiing and mountaineering.
The area broadly corresponds to the region between the Pyrenees and the Ebro River.
Some glaciers are found in the western and especially the snowy central Pyrenees, but the eastern Pyrenees lack glaciers because not enough snow falls there to cause them to form.
The Pyrenees are typically divided into three sections: the Atlantic (or western), the central, and the eastern Pyrenees.
Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level.
The amount of precipitation, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees, because of the moist air that blows in from the Atlantic Ocean.
Hercules created a tomb for her by piling up rocks thus forming the mountain range of the Pyrenees, named after her.
The independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees.
After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is usually dry over the eastern Pyrenees.