Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.Populations légales 2019: 33 Gironde
INSEE The famous Bordeaux wine region is in Gironde. It has six arrondissements, making it one of the departments with the most arrondissements ( Nord also has six, while

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

has the most of any department, with seven).

History

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 Girondist political party of the French Revolution. In July 2022, Gironde was affected by large wildfires.

Geography

Gironde is part of the current region of

and is surrounded by the departments of Landes,

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

and

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

on the west. With an area of 10,000 km², Gironde is the largest department in metropolitan France, and the second-largest in entire

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Its size is larger than

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

or the province of Banten. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km² of

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

. 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 Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the A ...

who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. The Great Dune of Pyla in Arcachon Bay near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe.C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. '' Le Figaro Magazine''.

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 30,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Jean-Luc Gleyze of the Socialist Party.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:Place-Bourse Bordeaux-boosted-colours.jpg,

File:Cave Blanc Château de Rochemorin.JPG, Bordeaux wine File:Dune du pyla 2009.JPG, The Great Dune of Pyla File:Arcachon tchanquée.JPG, Arcachon Bay File:Bourg-sur-Gironde2.jpg, Bourg-sur-Gironde File:Château de La Brède en Gironde.jpg, Château de la Brède, birthplace of Montesquieu File:France - Blaye - La Gironde depuis la citadelle.jpg, The Gironde estuary seen from the citadel of Blaye File:Les Grottes de Ferrand.jpg, Grottoes of Ferrand File:Château des Freytets nouveau château d'Eck cadaujac.JPG, Château d'Eck

References

External links

*
Departmental Council website
*
Prefecture website
*
Tourism Office website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790