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Pyrenees
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== Landscape == Conspicuous features of Pyrenean scenery are: * the absence of great lakes, such as those that fill the lateral valleys of the Alps<ref name=EB1911/> * the rarity and relative high elevation of usable [[Mountain pass|passes]]<ref name=EB1911/> * the large number of the mountain torrents locally called ''[[Gave (stem)|gaves]]'', which often form lofty [[waterfall]]s, surpassed in Europe only by those of [[Scandinavia]]<ref name=EB1911/> * the frequency with which the upper end of a valley assumes the form of a semicircle of precipitous cliffs, called a [[cirque]].<ref name=EB1911/> The highest [[waterfall]] is [[Gavarnie Falls|Gavarnie]] (462 m or 1,515 ft), at the head of the [[Gave de Pau]]; the [[Cirque de Gavarnie]], in the same valley,<ref name=EB1911/> together with the nearby Cirque de Troumouse and [[Cirque d'Estaubé]], are notable examples of the [[cirque]] formation. Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. The main passes of note are: * [[Col de la Perche]] ({{cvt|1581|m}}), towards the east, between the valley of the [[Têt River|Têt]] and the valley of the [[river Segre|Segre]], * [[Col de Puymorens]] ({{cvt|1920|m}}), on [[European route E09]] between France and Spain. * The nearby [[Pas de la Casa|Pas de la Casa or Port d'Envalira]], the highest road pass in the Pyrenees at {{cvt|2408|m}}, and one of the highest points of the European road network, which provides the route from France to Andorra, * The [[Port de la Bonaigua]] ({{cvt|2070|m}}), in the middle of the range at the head of the Aran Valley. * Plan de Beret ({{cvt|1870|m}}) * [[Col du Pourtalet]] ({{cvt|1794|m}}). * The Col de [[Somport]] or Port de Canfranc ({{cvt|1632|m}}), where there were old [[Roman road]]s. * [[Col de la Pierre St Martin]] ({{cvt|1766|m}}) * [[Puerto de Larrau]] ({{cvt|1578|m}}) * The [[Roncevaux Pass]] ({{cvt|1057|m}}), entirely in [[Navarre]] (Spain) is an important point on the [[Camino de Santiago]] pilgrimage route. Because of the lack of low passes a number of tunnels have been created, beneath the passes at Somport, Envalira, and Puymorens and new routes in the center of the range at [[Bielsa]] and [[Vielha Tunnel|Vielha]]. A notable visual feature of this [[mountain range]] is [[La Brèche de Roland]], a gap in the ridge line, which{{spaced ndash}}according to legend{{spaced ndash}}was created by [[Roland]]. [[File:Ibón.JPG|thumb|Ibón (glacial lake) Basa Mora, in Gistain valley, [[Aragon]].]] [[File:Estany de Llauset.jpg|thumb|Llauset lake, [[Aragon]]]]
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