Gironde

Gironde
Department
Prefecture building of the Gironde department, in Bordeaux
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Gironde in France
Coordinates: 44°50′N 0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W / 44.833; -0.667Coordinates: 44°50′N 0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W / 44.833; -0.667
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Prefecture	Bordeaux
Subprefectures	Arcachon Blaye Langon Lesparre-Médoc Libourne
Government
• President of the General Council	Jean-Luc Gleyze
Area
• Total	10,000 km2 (4,000 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	1,505,517
• Rank	7th
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	33
Arrondissements	6
Cantons	33
Communes	540
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Gironde (French pronunciation: ​[ʒiʁɔ̃d]; in Occitan Gironda) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwest France. It is named for the Gironde estuary, a major waterway. The Bordeaux wine region is in the Gironde.

Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.

From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the revolutionary party, the Girondists.

Gironde is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is surrounded by the departments of Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne and Charente-Maritime and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. With an area of 10,000 km², Gironde is the largest department in metropolitan France. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km² of Guyane.

Gironde is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to Lacanau each year. It is also the birthplace of Jacques-Yves Cousteau who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.