Vas (redirected from Vass)

vas

Anatomy zoology a vessel, duct, or tube that carries a fluid

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Vas 

a megye (district) in western Hungary. Area, 3,300 sq km; population, 276,000 (1968). Administrative center, Szombathely.

The surface of Vas is a hilly plain (elevations to 200-250 m), which gives way in the west to the wooded foothills of the Alps. The Raba River and its tributaries run through Vas. Annual precipitation is 650-850 mm. Brown forest soils predominate.

The basis of the economy is agriculture, which employs 44.3 percent of the population; industry employs 18.3 percent (1966). Arable land makes up 55.5 percent of the area, forested land 21.8 percent, meadows and pastures (primarily the valley of the Rába River) 13.2 percent, and orchards and vineyards 2.4 percent (1961). Rye, oats, and barley are raised; the proportion of feed and technical crops (sugar beets and flax) is substantial. There is livestock raising (cattle and swine; Vas has the greatest density of cattle per unit of cultivated land in the country). Textiles and clothing (Szombathely, Kőszeg, Szentgotthárd, and Sárvár) and the food and condiments industry (milling, distilling, starch, sugar, and dairy) are the main branches of industry.