Geography of France
The geography of France consists of a terrain that is mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and west and mountainous in the south and the east. Metropolitan France has a total size of . It is the third largest country in Europe after Russia and Ukraine.
Physical geography of Metropolitan France
- Metropolitan France:
- *
Elevation extremes
- Lowest point: Étang de Lavalduc, Bouches-du-Rhône -10 m
- Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,808 m
Land use
- Arable land: 33.40%
- Permanent crops: 1.83%
- Other: 64.77%
Total renewable water resources: 211 km3
Freshwater withdrawal : 31.62 km3/yr
Natural resources
, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish, goldNatural hazards
Flooding, avalanches, midwinter windstorms, drought, forest fires in the south near the MediterraneanEnvironment
The region that now comprises France consisted of open grassland during the Pleistocene Ice Age. France gradually became forested as the glaciers retreated starting in 10,000 BC, but clearing of these primeval forests began in Neolithic times. These forests were still fairly extensive until the medieval era.In prehistoric times, France was home to large predatory animals such as wolves and brown bears, as well as herbivores such as elk. The larger fauna have disappeared outside the Pyrenees Mountains where bears live as a protected species. Smaller animals include martens, wild pigs, foxes, weasels, bats, rodents, rabbits, and assorted birds.
By the 15th century, France had largely been denuded of its forests and was forced to rely on Scandinavia and their North American colonies for lumber. Significant remaining forested areas are in the Gascony region and north in the Alsace-Ardennes area. The Ardennes Forest was the scene of extensive fighting in both world wars.
The upper central part of this region is dominated by the Paris Basin, which consists of a layered sequence of sedimentary rocks. Fertile soils over much of the area make good agricultural land. The Normandy coast to the upper left is characterized by high, chalk cliffs, while the Brittany coast is highly indented where deep valleys were drowned by the sea, and the Biscay coast to the southwest is marked by flat, sandy beaches.
Political geography
Internal divisions
France has several levels of internal divisions. The first-level administrative division of Integral France is regions. Besides this the French Republic has sovereignty over several other territories, with various administrative levels.- Metropolitan France is divided into 12 régions and 1 territorial collectivity, Corsica. However, Corsica is referred to as a region in common speech. These regions are subdivided into 96 départements, which are further divided into 332 arrondissements, which are further divided into 3,879 cantons, which are further divided into 36,568 communes.
- Five overseas regions : Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion, with identical status to metropolitan regions. Each of these overseas regions also being an overseas département, with the same status as a département of metropolitan France. This double structure is new, due to the recent extension of the regional scheme to the overseas départements, and may soon transform into a single structure, with the merger of the regional and departmental assemblies. Another proposed change is that new départements are created such as in the case of Réunion, where it has been proposed to create a second département in the south of the island, with the région of Réunion above these two départements.
- Four overseas collectivities : Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, and Wallis and Futuna.
- One overseas "country" : French Polynesia. In 2003 it became an overseas collectivity. Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of overseas country inside the Republic, but without legal modification of its status.
- One sui generis collectivity : New Caledonia, whose status is unique in the French Republic.
- One overseas territory : the French Southern and Antarctic Lands divided into 5 districts: Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Islands, Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul, Adélie Land, and the Scattered islands.
- One uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico which belongs directly to the central State public land and is administered by the high-commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia: Clipperton.
Boundaries
- Land boundaries:
- * Total:
- * ,
- Border countries:
- * Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland
- * Brazil, Suriname,
- * Sint Maarten
- Coastline: , , , ,
- Maritime claims:
- * Territorial sea:
- * Contiguous zone:
- * Exclusive economic zone: only in Europe. including all overseas territories. The does not apply to the Mediterranean Sea
- * Continental shelf: depth or to the depth of exploitation
Extreme points
France (mainland Europe)
- Northernmost point — Bray-Dunes, Nord at
- Southernmost point — Puig de Comanegra, Lamanère, Pyrénées-Orientales at
- Westernmost point — Pointe de Corsen, Plouarzel, Finistère at
- Easternmost point — Lauterbourg, Bas Rhin at
France (metropolitan)
- Northernmost point — Bray-Dunes, Nord at
- Southernmost point — Îles Lavezzi, Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud at
- Westernmost point — Isle of Ushant, Finistère at
- Easternmost point — San-Giuliano, Haute-Corse at
France (including ''départements d'outre mer'')
- Northernmost point — Bray-Dunes, Nord at
- Westernmost point — Pointe-Noire, Guadeloupe at
- Easternmost point — Sainte-Rose, Réunion at
France (territory of the French Republic, including ''collectivités territoriales'' and ''pays et territoires d'outre-mer'')
- Northernmost point : Bray-Dunes, Nord at
- Southernmost point : îles de Boynes, Kerguelen Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands at
- Westernmost point : Toloke, Futuna, Wallis and Futuna at
- Easternmost point : Hunter Island, New Caledonia at
Temperature Extremes