Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwestern Europe that runs about 491 kilometers along the border between France and Spain, with the small country of Andorra between them. The range reaches its highest point at Aneto, 3,404 meters, in the Spanish province of Huesca, and covers about 55,000 square kilometers of granite, gneiss and limestone dating to the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. The mountains rose under intense compressional pressure that began in the Early Cretaceous period, more than 100 million years ago, and culminated during the Eocene epoch. Historically the main ridge has served as the political boundary between Spain and France, and the medieval Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre both held territory on both of its slopes.