Gabas is a hamlet in the valley of the Gave d'Ossau in the French Pyrenees. It is located where that river is formed by the confluence of two mountain streams, the Gave de Bious and the Gave du Brousset, which flow respectively from the western and eastern sides of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau. [1]
A hamlet is a small human settlement. In different jurisdictions and geographies, hamlets may be the size of a town, village or parish, be considered a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet have roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, where the old French hamlet came to apply to small human settlements. In British geography, a hamlet is considered smaller than a village and distinctly without a church.
The Gave d'Ossau is the torrential river flowing through the Ossau Valley, one of the three main valleys of the High-Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the Southwest of France.
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.
The hamlet is on the D934 road that runs from Pau to Spain, via the Col du Pourtalet, at the point where it is crossed by the GR10 long distance footpath that runs the length of the Pyrenees. Because of this location, Gabas has become a tourist gateway with an importance beyond its size. It is the site of an information centre of the Pyrenees National Park, a mountain ecology centre, a mountain refuge and several hotels. [1]
Pau is a commune on the northern edge of the Pyrenees, and capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Département in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country mostly located in Europe. Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country (Morocco). Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory. The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Col du Pourtalet, El Portalet or Portalet d'Aneu is a mountain pass and border crossing in the Pyrenees, between France and Spain. The pass reaches an elevation of 1,794 m (5,886 ft), and links the Ossau and Tena valleys.
Politically, Gabas forms part of the commune of Laruns in the département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The actual village of Laruns is some 13 km (8.1 mi) to the north of Gabas on the D934.
Laruns is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in southwestern France. It takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. It covers the French Basque Country and the Béarn.
