Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Francei

Regional Level Types
Nouvelle-Aquitaine	Region
France	Country

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Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the largest administrative region in metropolitan France, located in the south-west of the country and covering approximately 84,000 km². Created in 2016 through the merger of the former regions of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes, it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Spain to the south, and several French regions to the north and east. The region’s geography is highly varied, ranging from the Atlantic coastal plains and dune systems of the Bay of Biscay, through fertile river valleys and low plateaus, to upland and mountainous terrain in the interior and south. Major river systems include the Garonne, Dordogne, Charente, and Adour, which have played a key role in settlement, agriculture, and trade.

Geologically, Nouvelle-Aquitaine encompasses several major geological provinces. Much of the region lies within the Aquitaine Basin, a large sedimentary basin filled with Mesozoic and Cenozoic limestones, sandstones, clays, and marls deposited in marine and continental environments. These rocks form extensive lowlands and gently rolling plateaus, particularly in the west and north. To the east, the region rises into the Massif Central, where Precambrian and Palaeozoic crystalline basement rocks—including granites, gneisses, and schists formed during the Variscan (Hercynian) orogeny—are widely exposed. In the south, the Pyrenees mark a major Alpine mountain belt, composed of folded and faulted sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks formed during the Alpine orogeny, creating some of the most rugged landscapes in the region.

This geological diversity has supported a long and varied mineral and extractive heritage. Nouvelle-Aquitaine has historically produced coal, particularly in the Massif Central margins, as well as gold, silver, lead, zinc, and tin from Variscan basement terrains. The region is also well known for uranium mining, especially in Limousin, which was one of France’s principal uranium-producing areas during the 20th century. Quarrying has been widespread and remains important, with extraction of limestone, granite, sand, gravel, and clay for building stone, aggregates, ceramics, and cement. Coastal sands and gravels have also been economically significant.

Administratively, Nouvelle-Aquitaine is divided into 12 departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne. The regional capital is Bordeaux, a major historical, economic, and cultural centre. The region’s identity reflects the interaction between its Atlantic coastline, sedimentary basins, ancient crystalline uplands, and Alpine mountain belt, as well as a long history of mining, quarrying, agriculture, and stone use shaped by its underlying geology.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

410 valid minerals. 13 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals. 1 erroneous literature entry.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities