| Landes forest French: 'La forêt des Landes' Occitan: 'las Lanas de Gasconha' | |
|---|---|
 A stand of Pinus pinaster | |
| Map | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Landes, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne départements, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France |
| Coordinates | 44°10′48″N 0°34′56″W / 44.18°N 0.5822°W |
| Elevation | 0 metres (0 ft) |
| Area | 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| Status | Private |
| Established | June 19, 1857 (19 June 1857 law) |
| Governing body | Multiple private |
| Ecology | |
| WWF Classification | Atlantic mixed forests |
| Disturbance | Wildfire, Windthrow, Logging |
| Dominant tree species | Maritime pine |
The Landes forest (pronounced [lɑ̃d]; La forêt des Landes in French) in the Landes de Gascogne (las Lanas de Gasconha in the Gascon language), in the historic Gascony natural region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest man-made woodland in Western Europe. The French word, landes and Gascon lanas, mean 'moors' or 'heaths', from Transalpine Gaulish *landa ("uninhabited/uncultivated area"); compare Irish lann, Welsh llan (“enclosure”).[1]