Barousse valley

The Barousse is a small region of southwestern France, including the valley of the Ourse, a left tributary of the Garonne, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and the smaller valley of Siradan.

The main towns are Loures-Barousse and Mauleon-Barousse.

Its name comes from the pre-Latin Gascon language Barroça, which is based on the Basque language root ibar which means 'valley' and on a variant of the toponymic suffix -oç. Others have seen its origin in the name of the Ourse river.

The Basque language influence is clearly discernible in toponyms such as Ourse, Loures-Barousse, Izaourt, Sarp, Ourde, Esbareich, Sost, etc. Then the Romans left their marks with the names of estates such as Antichan and Samuran which eventually became villages.

Finally, one can hear the Gascon language in the names Créchets (small cliff), Bramevaque (mooing cow), Troubat (found?) or Cazarilh (small hamlet).

The name of Ilheu is also reminiscent of the valley of Ilhéou.

Barousse corresponds mainly to the basin of the Ourse river in the northeast of the Moun Né (2,147 m (7,044 ft)) between the valley de la Pique, to the south, and the valley of Nistos to the north. It flows into the valley of the Garonne near Barbazan. The small valley of Siradan, which leads directly to the Garonne from the plateau Cazarilh, is also part of the Barousse since no significant barrier separates it from the main valley. The valley is not a means of communication even if the port Balès (1755 m) can reach the valley of Oueil to the south.

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