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Introduction

Both geologically and morphologically, the Pyrenean mountain chain forms an important divide, one that separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of the European continent.The Pyrenees (Pyrénées, in French) also form the boundary between the Ebro Valley and the folded-foreland basin of N Spain in the S, and the Garonne Valley region of France in the N. The drainage divide and political frontier between France and Spain do not coincide everywhere, the most important exception being the upper reaches of the Garonne River in the Spanish Valle de Arán. The 100 km wide Pyrenean geological province extends 1000 km; i.e. eastward from NW Spain (Galicia or Gallaecia, Asturias, and Cantabrian Mountains) through the Pyreneen and into the French Languedoc-Aix-en-Provence region; the latter lies S of the E extension of the largely covered N Pyrenean frontal fault (Figs 220-221) Only the central part of the geological province is discussed.

Fig. 220
figure 1_1-4020-4495-X_32

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© 1997 Chapman & Hall

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Hall, C.A. (1997). France: Spain: Pyrenees . In: Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74040-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4495-3

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