Editing Lourdes (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Lourdes la citadelle.jpg|thumb|The Château Fort in Lourdes|alt=]]
Lourdes is located in southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains near the [[prime meridian]]. It is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of [[Aneto]], [[Montaigu (mountain)|Montaigu]], and [[Vignemale]] ({{cvt|3,298|m|ft|lk=out|disp=or}}), while around the town there are three summits reaching up to {{cvt|1000|m|ft|0}} which are known as the ''Béout'', the ''Petit Jer'' (with its three crosses) and the ''Grand Jer'' (with its single cross). The Grand Jer is accessible via the [[Funiculaire du Pic du Jer|funicular railway of the Pic du Jer]]. The Béout was once accessible by cable car, although this has fallen into disrepair. A pavilion is still visible on the summit.

Lourdes lies at an elevation of {{cvt|420|m|ft}} and in a central position through which runs the fast-flowing river [[Gave de Pau]] from the south, coming from its source at [[Gavarnie]]; into it flow several smaller rivers from [[Barèges]] and [[Cauterets]]. The Gave then branches off to the west towards the [[Béarn]], running past the banks of the Grotto and on downstream to [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] and then [[Biarritz]].

On land bordered by a loop of the Gave de Pau is an outcrop of rock called ''Massabielle'' (from ''masse vieille'': "old mass"). On the northern aspect of this rock, near the riverbank, is a naturally occurring, irregularly shaped shallow cave or grotto, in which the apparitions of 1858 took place.<ref>Ruth Harris, ''Lourdes: Body and Spirit in the Secular Age'', Penguin Books, 1999, p. 52.</ref>

===Climate===
The climate of Lourdes, due to the proximity of the city to the Atlantic, is [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] (''Cfb'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]). It is quite mild for most of the year with moderate rainfall in summer and quite high rainfall in winter – about 120 rainy days and more than {{cvt|1000|mm}} of average annual precipitation. The summers are warm, the autumn and spring mild, while winter is cool. Because of the proximity of the city to the [[Pyrenees]], Lourdes, like other areas of the Pyrenean Piedmont, however, can be affected in winter by sporadic waves of frost: in January 1985 the thermometer marked -17° [[Fahrenheit]], -27&nbsp;°C (historical record from 1934 to the present). A summer temperature of 102&nbsp;°F, 39&nbsp;°C, was recorded in August 2003. The reference station of Lourdes is to Tarbes-Ossun-Lourdes, located approximately {{cvt|9|km}} from the town, in the airport area of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées, 360 m.

{| class="wikitable" align="center"
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" height="17" | Stat. of Tarbes (1982–2013)
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jan
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Feb
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Mar
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Apr
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | May
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jun
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Jul
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Aug
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Sep
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Oct
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Nov
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Dec
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Year
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. min. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,0
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,5
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 3,6
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 5,7
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 8,7
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,4
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,8
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 7,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 5,7
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 6,4
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 8,9
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,8
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 20,1
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 20,2
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,5
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,0
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,1
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 6,5
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 12,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Tp. max. avg (°C)
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,3
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 11,2
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 14,2
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 15,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 19,6
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 22,8
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 25,2
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 25,3
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 22,9
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 19,2
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 13,7
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 11,1
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 17,7
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | Frost days
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 10,88
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,69
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,78
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 1,06
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0
| style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 0,31
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 4,1
| style="background: #FFFFCC; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 9,74
| style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000080; text-align:center;" | 40,34
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;" | Precipitation (mm)
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 95.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 83.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 85.3
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 110.7
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 114.2
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 78.4
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 57.7
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 66.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 72.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 84.3
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 103.5
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 92.0
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 1041.8
|-
! style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;" | Rainy days
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,59
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 9,5
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 10,16
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 12,53
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 12,91
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 9,75
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 7,19
| style="background: #66CCFF; text-align:center;" | 8,47
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 8,53
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,28
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,16
| style="background: #2288BB; text-align:center;" | 10,29
| style="background: #44AADD; text-align:center;" | 120,35
|}
{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = Lourdes (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1881−2011)
|single line = Y
|metric first = Y
|Jan record high C = 24.7
|Feb record high C = 27.0
|Mar record high C = 30.0
|Apr record high C = 32.0
|May record high C = 34.6
|Jun record high C = 41.0
|Jul record high C = 39.9
|Aug record high C = 40.5
|Sep record high C = 37.0
|Oct record high C = 34.0
|Nov record high C = 28.0
|Dec record high C = 26.0
|Jan record low C = -18.2
|Feb record low C = -16.5
|Mar record low C = -12.0
|Apr record low C = -4.9
|May record low C = -3.8
|Jun record low C = 1.0
|Jul record low C = 0.5
|Aug record low C = 1.5
|Sep record low C = -0.1
|Oct record low C = -4.0
|Nov record low C = -9.9
|Dec record low C = -17.0
|Jan high C = 11.0
|Feb high C = 12.3
|Mar high C = 15.4
|Apr high C = 17.1
|May high C = 20.7
|Jun high C = 23.8
|Jul high C = 26.1
|Aug high C = 26.3
|Sep high C = 23.7
|Oct high C = 19.8
|Nov high C = 14.4
|Dec high C = 11.6
|year high C = 18.5
|Jan mean C = 6.3
|Feb mean C = 7.3
|Mar mean C = 10.0
|Apr mean C = 11.7
|May mean C = 15.3
|Jun mean C = 18.4
|Jul mean C = 20.6
|Aug mean C = 20.7
|Sep mean C = 18.0
|Oct mean C = 14.6
|Nov mean C = 9.6
|Dec mean C = 7.0
|year mean C = 13.3
|Jan low C = 1.5
|Feb low C = 2.3
|Mar low C = 4.5
|Apr low C = 6.3
|May low C = 9.9
|Jun low C = 13.1
|Jul low C = 15.1
|Aug low C = 15.2
|Sep low C = 12.4
|Oct low C = 9.4
|Nov low C = 4.8
|Dec low C = 2.3
|year low C = 8.1
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 135.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 109.5
|Mar precipitation mm = 120.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 149.9
|May precipitation mm = 139.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 103.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 82.5
|Aug precipitation mm = 87.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 94.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 121.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 145.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 136.1
|year precipitation mm = 1426.7
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 12.4
|Feb precipitation days = 11.6
|Mar precipitation days = 12.0
|Apr precipitation days = 14.3
|May precipitation days = 15.0
|Jun precipitation days = 11.9
|Jul precipitation days = 10.8
|Aug precipitation days = 10.7
|Sep precipitation days = 10.3
|Oct precipitation days = 12.3
|Nov precipitation days = 12.4
|Dec precipitation days = 12.2
|year precipitation days = 146.1
|source 1 = [[Météo-France]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_65286003.pdf |title=Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1981-2010 et records |language=fr |publisher=[[Météo-France]] |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912022652/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_65286003.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}