Ariège (department)

Ariège
Department
Coat of arms
Location of Ariège in France
Coordinates: 43°00′N 1°30′E / 43.000°N 1.500°E / 43.000; 1.500Coordinates: 43°00′N 1°30′E / 43.000°N 1.500°E / 43.000; 1.500
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Prefecture	Foix
Subprefectures	Pamiers Saint-Girons
Government
• President of the General Council	Augustin Bonrepaux (PS)
Area
• Total	4,890 km2 (1,890 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	152,684
• Rank	95th
• Density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	09
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	13
Communes	332
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Ariège (French pronunciation: ​[aʁjɛʒ]; Occitan: Arièja) is a department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France named after the Ariège River. Its capital is the town of Foix and the INSEE and Postal code is 09. The inhabitants of the department are known as Ariègeois or Ariègeoises.

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

Covering an area of 4,890 km², the department is divided into three arrondissements: Foix, Pamiers, and Saint-Girons.

It is composed of 13 cantons, 21 intercommunalities, and 332 communes. In 2009 the Regional Natural Park of the Ariège Pyrenees was created covering about 40% of the area of the department of Ariège.

There are three main areas:

The north of the department consists of plains, hills and low valleys where agriculture is prevalent. Part of Lauragais covers the northeast of the department. Two major rivers, the Ariège and the Lèze traverse the plain from south to north. A landscape of grain fields dominates the scene with growing of corn and sunflowers and with prairies.

...
Wikipedia