Speaking geologically, the Pyrenees extend along the whole north of
Spain, from the Mediterranean to the province of Galicia on the
Atlantic; and in this sense the chain may be regarded as between six and
seven hundred miles in length.
More properly, however, the term "Pyrenees" is limited to that portion
of the range which lies directly between France and Spain; in other
words, along the neck or isthmus of the Spanish peninsula. Thus
limited, the range is less than half the above length, or about three
hundred miles; while its average breadth is fifty.
Though less elevated than the Alps, the Pyrenees mountains are no
molehills. Their highest peak, Maladetta, towers above 11,000 feet; and
several others are of nearly equal height--while more than forty summits
reach the elevation of 9,000!
The most elevated peaks are near the centre of the Pyrenees, the range
gradually dipping downward as the extremities are approached. For this
reason the most practicable passes are found near the eastern and
western ends; though many also exist in the central part of the chain.
In all, there are fifty passes or "ports," as they are called, leading
from the French to the Spanish side; but only five of these are
practicable for wheeled vehicles; and a large number are only known (or
at all events only travelled) by the smugglers--_contrabandistas_--a
class of gentry who swarm on both sides of the Pyrenean frontier.
The superficial extent of these mountains is about 11,000 or 12,000
square miles. Part of this is French, and the remainder Spanish
territory. As a general rule, the "divide," or main axis of the ridge
forms the boundary line; but in the eastern section, the French
territory has been extended beyond the natural frontier.
The geological formation of the Pyrenees consists both of primitive and
secondary rocks--the latter being greater in mass, and composed of
argillaceous schist, grauwacke (schistose and common), and limestone.
Mines of lead, iron, and copper are found in this formation--the lead
containing a proportion of silver. The primitive rocks are granite; and
run in zones or belts, extended lengthwise in the direction of the
chain; and it is in the rupture between these and the transition strata,
that the chemical springs, for which the Pyrenees are so famous, gush
forth. Of these remarkable fountains--many of them almost at boiling
heat--no less than 253 have been discovered in different parts of the
range. A great number of them are celebrated for their medicinal
virtues, and are the favourite summer resorts of invalids, as well as
the votaries of pleasure, from all parts of the world--but more
especially from France and Spain.
The botany of the Pyrenees is full of interest. It may be regarded as
an epitome of the whole European _flora_: since scarcely a plant exists,
from the Mediterranean to the Arctic sea, that has not a representative
species in some part of this mountain chain. In the valleys and lower
slopes of the mountains the forest is chiefly composed of Lombardy
poplars and sycamores; a little higher, the Spanish chestnut, oaks,
hazels, and alders, the mountain ash and birch trees abound; and still
farther up you enter the region of the pines--the _pinus sylvestris_
growing in dense continuous forests, while the more graceful "stone
pine" is seen only in isolated groups or scattered trees. Everywhere a
rich _flora_ meets the eye; flowers of the most lovely hues reflected in
crystal rivulets--for the waters of the Pyrenees are pure beyond
comparison, such a thing as a turbid stream being unknown throughout the
whole range.
Above the pine forests the mountains exhibit a zone of naked
declivities, stretching upward to the line of congelation--which in the
Pyrenees is higher than upon the Alps. The former has been variously
estimated: some fixing it at 8,300 feet, while others raise it as high
as 9,000; but, indeed, it would be more just to say that the snow-line
depends greatly upon the locality of the particular mountain, and its
southern or northern exposure.
In any case, it is more than 1,000 feet higher than on the Alps; the
superior elevation being accounted for, by the more southern latitude of
the Franco-Spanish chain. Perhaps the proximity of the sea has more to
do with this phenomenon than the trifling difference of latitude?
Upon the higher declivities and summits, snowfields and glaciers abound,
as in the Alps; and even in some of the passes these phenomena are
encountered. Most of the passes are higher than those of the Alps; but
in consequence of the greater elevation of the snow-line, they remain
open throughout the winter. At all seasons, however, they are by no
means easy to traverse; and the cold winds that whistle through them are
scarce to be endured. The Spaniards, who have a proverbial expression
for almost every idea, have not neglected this one. In the ports
(_puertos_) of the Pyrenees, say they, "the father waits not for his
son, nor the son for his father."
If the passes across these mountains are higher than those of the Alps,
the transverse valleys are the reverse; those of the Pyrenees being in
general much lower. The consequence is, that from the bottom of these
valleys the mountains themselves appear far loftier than any of the
Alpine peaks,--the eye taking in at one view a greater angle of
elevation.
The _fauna_ of the Pyrenean chain, though less full and varied than its
_flora_, is nevertheless of great interest. In the more densely wooded
solitudes, and higher declivities of the mountains, a large bear is
found, whose light fulvous-coloured body and black paws pronounce him a
different animal from the _ursus arctos_. If he be the same species, as
naturalists assert, he claims at least to be a permanent variety, and
deserves his distinctive appellation of _ursus pyrenaicus_.
Wolves abound; Spanish wolves, long famed for their fierceness; the
common whitish-brown wolf (_canis lupus_), and a darker and still larger
variety--in short, a black wolf, designated the "wolf of the Pyrenees,"
though it is equally a denizen of the other mountain _sierras_ of
Portugal and Spain.
The European lynx (_felis lynx_), and the wild cat, both skulk through
the Pyrenean forests; the former now only rarely seen. Along the naked
cliffs leaps the "izzard," which is identical with the chamois of the
Alps (_antelope rupicapra_); and in the same localities, but more rarely
seen, the "bouquetin," or "tur" (_aigocerus pyrenaicus_)--a species of
ibex, _not_ identical with the _capra ibex_ of Linnaeus and the Alpine
mountains.
Birds of many European species frequent the lower forests of the
Pyrenees, or fill the sheltered valleys with their vocal music; while,
soaring above the mountain summits, may be seen the great vulture-eagle,
or "lammergeyer," watching with greedy eye the feeble lambkin, or the
new-born kid of the ibex and izzard.
With such knowledge of their natural history, it was with feelings of no
ordinary interest that our young hunters turned their faces towards that
vast serried rampart that separates the land of the Gaul from the
country of the Iberian.
It was by the Val d'Ossau, literally the "valley of the bear," that they
made their approach to the mountains,--that valley celebrated as the
residence and hunting-ground of Henri of Navarre: but now, in modern
days, noted for its valuable thermal springs of _Eaux Bonnes_ and _Eaux
Chaudes_.
Up this mountain gorge went our heroes, their faces turned southward,
and their eyes carried high up to the Pic du Midi d'Ossau--the mountain
of the bears--an appropriate name for that beacon which was now
directing their course.