Editing Gironde (section)

==Geography==
Gironde is part of the current region of [[Nouvelle-Aquitaine]] and is surrounded by the departments of [[Landes (department)|Landes]], [[Lot-et-Garonne]], [[Dordogne]] and [[Charente-Maritime]] and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] on the west. With an area of 10,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, Gironde is the largest department in [[metropolitan France]], and the second-largest in entire [[France]]. Its size is larger than [[Lebanon]] or the province of [[Banten]]. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of [[French Guiana]].

Gironde is well known for the [[Côte d'Argent]] beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many [[surfer]]s to [[Lacanau]] each year. It is also the birthplace of [[Jacques-Yves Cousteau]] who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.

[[The Great Dune of Pyla]] in [[Arcachon Bay]] near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe.<ref>C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. ''[[Le Figaro|Le Figaro Magazine]]''. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>