Val d'Aran

Val d’aran

Country: Spain
Autonomous community: Catalonia
Province: Lleida
Capital: Vielha e Mijaran
Municipalities: Arres, Bausen, Bossòst, Es Bòrdes, Canejan, Les, Naut Aran, Vielha e Mijaran, Vilamòs
Area: Total 620.5 km2 (239.6 sq mi)
Population: Total 7,130
Density: 11.5/km2 (29.8/sq mi)
Demonym: aranès (m.) aranesa (f.)
Time zone: CET (UTC+1)
Largest municipality: Vielha e Mijaran
Val d'Aran, Aneto in the background.The Val d'Aran (Occitan: Era Val d'Aran; Catalan: la Vall d'Aran; Spanish: El Valle de Arán) is a Spanish valley (620.47 km²) in the Pyrenees mountains and a comarca (county) in the northwestern part of the province of Lleida, in Catalonia, northern Spain. Most of the valley constitutes the only part of Spain, and of Catalonia, on the north face of the Pyrenees, hence the only part of Catalonia whose waters drain into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is characterized by an Atlantic climate, due to its peculiar orientation, which is different from other valleys in the area.
The Val d'Aran borders France on the north, the Spanish Autonomous Community of Aragón to the west and the Catalan comarques of Alta Ribagorça to the south and Pallars Sobirà to the east. The capital of the comarca is Vielha, with 3,692 inhabitants (1996). The entire population of the valley is about 7,130 (1996). The Garonne river passes through the Val d'Aran after rising on the Saburedo Cirque and receiving the water of the Joèu river (from the slopes of nearby Pic Aneto and passing underground at the Forau de Aigualluts). It then reappears in the Val dera Artiga as a resurgence and flows into the Val d'Aran which is one of the highest valleys of the Pyrenees. The Noguera Pallaresa, with its head only a hundred meters from that of the Garona, flows the other way, toward the Mediterranean.
The Val d'Aran used to be without direct communication with the south side of the mountains during winter, until the construction of the Vielha tunnel, opened in 1948. In 10/03/1949, Spanish Comunist Party guerrillas tried to force the fall of Spanish government bursting into the valley and controlling some villages until 10/27/1949.
Name and local language
Aranese is the standardized form of the Gascon variety of the Occitan language. The name Val d'Aran is Aranese. "Val d'Aran" itself is a pleonasm, as it means Valley of the Valley (val in Gascon and aran from Basque haran), a combination that reflects its unique geography. Aranese has been regularly taught at school since 1984. Like several other minority languages in Europe that recently faced decline, Aranese is experiencing a renaissance.

Maps and road signs in Spain use the name "era Val d'Aran" to refer to the valley, where era is the Aranese singular feminine article as a part of the name. The same practice goes for all towns and other locations in Aran, for example, the Aranese spelling Vielha is used instead of Catalan and Spanish Viella to refer to the capital of Val d'Aran.
Basque toponyms show that Basque was spoken further along the Pyrenees than today. An example is Val d'Aran since haran itself is the Basque word for "valley". However, the growing influence of Latin began to drive Basque out from the less mountainous portions of the region.
Government and economy
Panorama of part of Val d'Aran, with Bossòst to the left.The area is divided in six administrative divisions, called terçons (meaning "thirds", as the divisions were formerly three in number). The current arrangement of the divisions dates from the 15th century.
Major political powers are Unity of Aran - Aranese Nationalist Party (Socialists' Party of Catalonia local section, the governing party) and Aranese Democratic Convergence (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia local section). Occitan Republican Left was founded in 2008.
The main income is from ski resorts in the winter, and from tourism in the summer. Other primary sectors of the economy include forest products, cattle raising and apiculture, all of which have become less and less important since the opening of ski resorts.
Municipalities:
Arres population: - 61
Bausen population: - 52
Bossòst population: - 1,043
Es Bòrdes population: - 247
Canejan population: - 104
Les population: - 903
Naut Aran population: - 1,732
Vielha e Mijaran population: - 5,239
Vilamòs population: - 173
Fauna
Many native animals of Val d'Aran are in peril of extinction. There are programs of reintroduction and/or protection for:
Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)
Aran rock lizard (Lacerta aranica)
Bearded vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus)`
In the high mountains, at the far western end of the Catalan Pyrenees, on the French border, in the upper valley of the Garonne, Vall d’Aran has the peculiarity of being an Atlantic valley on the northern slopes of the range, which descend to the plains of Aquitaine. That is why the climate is colder, with heavy snowfalls, and the inhabitants speak an offshoot of the Gascon language, which belongs to the Provencal family. Surrounded by towering peaks (Tuc de Molières, Besiberri, Gran Tuc de Colomers, with huge glacial corries (Saboredo, Colomers, Restanca, Mar) are the sources of the Garonne, which flows through the middle of the valley where most of the population is concentrated, the Noguera Pallaresa (NE) and the Noguera Ribagorçana (S), tributaries of the Segre. The Port de la Bonaigua is the traditional road over the pass to Catalonia, though the Vielha tunnel has provided easier access in modern times. Vall d’Aran was part of the mediaeval county of Comminges, but from the 12th century it was drawn into the kingdom of Catalonia and Aragon. In recent years, crop and dairy farming and exploitation of the woodlands have given way to tourism; people flock in their thousands drawn by the beauty of the landscape, the walking and skiing, the adventure sports and the architectural heritage.

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