Ariège is a department in south-western France named after the Ariège River. Ariège is one of the novel 83 departments formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 17 90. The department is part of the current region of Midi-Pyrénées and is surrounded by the French departments of Haute-Garonne, Aude, and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as Spain and Andorra on the south. The natural features are dominated by the Pyrenees Mountains, which form the border between France and Spain . Ariège stands on the eastern limit of oceanic dominance over rainfall.