Hautes Pyrénées

Hautes-Pyrénées
Department
Prefecture building of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in Tarbes
Coat of arms
Location of Hautes-Pyrénées in France
Coordinates: 43°12′N 0°8′E / 43.200°N 0.133°E / 43.200; 0.133Coordinates: 43°12′N 0°8′E / 43.200°N 0.133°E / 43.200; 0.133
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Prefecture	Tarbes
Subprefectures	Argelès-Gazost Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Government
• President of the General Council	Michel Pelieu
Area
• Total	4,464 km2 (1,724 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	228,868
• Rank	84th
• Density	51/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	65
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	17
Communes	470
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Hautes-Pyrénées (French pronunciation: ​[ot pi.ʁe.ne]) (Gascon/Occitan: Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus ['awts piɾeˈnɛʊs]; Spanish: Altos Pirineos; Catalan: Alts Pirineus ['alts piɾiˈneʊs]) is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Occitanie region.

Historically the area broadly covered by the département was known as Bigorre, a territory at times independent but later part of Gascony province. Large parts of the area were held by the English after the Treaty of Brétigny, 1360. In the 16th century, it was part of the Huguenot domain of the monarchs of Navarre, brought to France by Henri IV. For its early history, see Bigorre and Gascony.

The département of Hautes-Pyrénées was created at the time of the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790, through the influence of Tarbes politician Bertrand Barère, a member of the Convention.

Hautes-Pyrénées consists of several distinct geographical areas. The southern portion, along the border with Spain, consists of mountains such as the Vignemale, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, and the Neouvielle and Arbizon ranges. A second area consists of low-altitude rolling hills. The Northern part of the département consists of largely flat agricultural land. Hautes-Pyrénées has two small territorial exclaves—a remnant from the Middle Ages—located within the neighboring département of Pyrenees-Atlantiques.