Landes, Administrative department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
Landes is an administrative unit in southwestern France, reaching from the Atlantic coast to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Most of the territory lies under pine forest, interspersed with moorland, small towns and farmland further inland.
The administrative unit formed in 1790 from parts of historical territories, when the French Revolution drew new boundaries. In the 19th century, large-scale afforestation transformed former marsh and heathland into the present forest area.
The maritime pine, planted from seed in the 19th century, gives the forest its character and left a landscape that people widely associate with the region. Resin harvesting shaped the work of many residents for centuries, and some trees still show the old cuts in their bark.
Roads through the forest lead to towns along the coast and further inland, and many routes are suitable for cycling. The beaches lie open to the ocean, and within the forest you can find shaded spots even on warm days.
The long sandy coast runs without rocks or bays continuously southward, a rare coastal form in Europe. In some areas, dunes slowly migrate inland and shift the boundary between beach and forest.
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