, a small valley (620.47
Km2 ) is a
Comarca (county) in the northwestern part of
Catalonia , which is an autonomous region of
Spain . It is the source of the
Garonne , and one of the highest valleys of the
Pyrenees . Most of the valley constitutes the only Catalan territory 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 on the North with
France , with
Aragón on the west and with 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 chief river is the
Garona , which descends through
Gascony to the Atlantic. The
Noguera Pallaresa , with its head only a hundred meters from that of the Garona, flows the other way, toward the
Mediterranean .
The valley 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 . Spanish Republican
Guerrilla s (supporters of the
Second Spanish Republic , the losing side in the
Spanish Civil War ) controlled the area from the end of
World War II until the opening of the tunnel.
The name Val d'Aran is
Occitan , more precisely
Gascon or, yet more precisely,
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.
In Aranese, "Val d'Aran" often appears written "era Val d'Aran", using the Aranese singular feminine article like a part of the name. In
Catalan , it's "la ", and in
Spanish "el '''Valle de Arán'''".
Inhabitants speak a dialect of
Gascon called ''"Aranès"'' (known in English as "Aranese"), strongly influenced by
Aragonese and
Catalan . Aranese has its own orthography. Most local Aranese speakers are also fluent in Spanish, Catalan and French. Aranese has been regularly taught at school since
1984 . Like several other
Minority Language s in Europe that, until recently, were on the decline and spoken only by the older members of a given society, Aranese is experiencing a renaissance.
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 .
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.
These population figures are from
January 1 ,
2005 .
Many native animals of the Vall d'Aran are
In Peril Of Extinction . There are programs of reintroduction and/or protection for:
