Ariège

Ariège is a department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France named after the Ariège River. Its capital is the town of Foix and the INSEE and Postal code is 09. The inhabitants of the department are known as Ariègeois or Ariègeoises.GeographyThe department is part of the current region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the French departments of Haute-Garonne to the west and north, :Aude to the east, and Pyrénées-Orientales in the south-east, as well as Spain (Lleida) and Andorra in the south.Covering an area of 4,890 km2, the department is divided into three arrondissements: Foix, Pamiers, and Saint-Girons.It is composed of 13 cantons, 21 intercommunalities, and 331 communes. In 2009 the Regional Natural Park of the Ariège Pyrenees was created covering about 40% of the area of the department of Ariège.Physical geographyThere are three main areas:The Ariège plainThe north of the department consists of plains, hills and low valleys where agriculture is prevalent. Part of Lauragais covers the northeast of the department. Two major rivers, the Ariège and the Lèze traverse the plain from south to north. A landscape of grain fields dominates the scene with growing of corn and sunflowers and with prairies.