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 (including the Pyrenees) and the east (the highest points being in the Alps). Metropolitan France has a total size of 551,695 km2 (213,011 sq mi) (Europe only). It is the third largest country in Europe after Russia and Ukraine.

Geography of France
ContinentEurope
RegionWestern Europe
Coordinates48°51′N 2°21′E
AreaRanked 42nd
 • Total551,695 km2 (213,011 sq mi)
 • Land99.48%
 • Water0.52%
Coastline3,427 km (2,129 mi)
Borders4,176 km (2,595 mi)
Highest pointMont Blanc 4,808 m (15,774 ft)
Lowest pointÉtang de Lavalduc −10 m (−33 ft)
Longest riverLoire 1,012 km (629 mi)
Largest lakeLac du Bourget 44.5 km (27.7 mi)
Climateoceanic climate (west), semi-continental climate (north and north-east), lower Rhône valley Mediterranean climate, mountain climate in the Alps and Pyrenees.
TerrainMostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and west and mountainous in the south
Natural ResourcesCoal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish, gold
Natural HazardsFlooding, avalanches, midwinter windstorms, drought, forest fires in the south near the Mediterranean
Environmental IssuesWater pollution from public wastes, air pollution from industrial and vehicle exhaust, agricultural runoff, forest damage due to acid rain.
Exclusive economic zoneIn Europe: 334,604 km2 (129,191 sq mi)
All overseas territories: 11,691,000 km2 (4,514,000 sq mi)
A topographic map of the Republic, excluding all the overseas departments and territories
Köppen climate classification map of France.

Physical geography of Metropolitan France
Land use in Metropolitan France, with urban areas shown in red, 2006.
Natural resources of France. Metals are in blue (Al — aluminium ore, Fe — iron ore, W — tungsten, Au — gold, U — uranium). Fossil fuels are in red (C — coal, L — lignite, P — petroleum, G — natural gas). Non-metallic minerals are in green (F — fluorite, K — potash, T — talc).
  • Metropolitan France: 551,695 km2 (213,011 sq mi)
    • (Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French National Geographic Institute data?
  • Metropolitan France: 543,965 km2
    • (Metropolitan - i.e. European - France only, French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, glaciers larger than 1 km2
      , and estuaries)

Elevation extremes

Land use
  • Arable land: 33.40%
  • Permanent crops: 1.83%
  • Other: 64.77% (2007)

Irrigated land: 26,420 km² (2007)

Total renewable water resources: 211 km3 (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): 31.62 km3/yr (19%/71%/10%) (512.1 m3/yr per capita) (2009)

Natural resources

Coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish, gold, clay, petroleum

Natural hazards

Flooding, avalanches, midwinter windstorms, drought, forest fires in the south near the Mediterranean

Environment

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 (the peninsula to the left) 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
Regions and departments of Metropolitan France in 2016.
Main article: Administrative divisions of France

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 (i.e. European) 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 (as of 1/1/2004).
  • Five overseas regions (régions d'outre-mer, or ROM): Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion, with identical status to metropolitan regions. Each of these overseas regions also being an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM), with the same status as a département of metropolitan France. This double structure (région/département) 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.

Boundaries
  • Land boundaries:
    • Total: 3,966.2 kilometres (2,464.5 mi)
    • 2,751 kilometres (1,709 mi) (metropolitan), 1,205 kilometres (749 mi) (French Guiana) 10.2 kilometres (6.3 mi) (Saint Martin)
  • Border countries:
    • Andorra 55 kilometres (34 mi), Belgium 556 kilometres (345 mi), Germany 418 kilometres (260 mi), Italy 476 kilometres (296 mi), Luxembourg 69 kilometres (43 mi), Monaco 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), Spain 646 kilometres (401 mi), Switzerland 525 kilometres (326 mi) (metropolitan)
    • Brazil 649 kilometres (403 mi), Suriname 556 kilometres (345 mi), 1,183 kilometres (735 mi) (French Guiana)
    • Sint Maarten 10.2 kilometres (6.3 mi) (Saint Martin)
  • Coastline: 3,427 kilometres (2,129 mi) (metropolitan), 378 kilometres (235 mi) (French Guiana), 306 kilometres (190 mi) (Guadeloupe), 350 kilometres (220 mi) (Martinique), 207 kilometres (129 mi) (Réunion)
  • Maritime claims:
    • Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
    • Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
    • Exclusive economic zone: 334,604 km2 (129,191.3 sq mi) only in Europe. 11,691,000 km2 (4,513,920.3 sq mi) including all overseas territories. The 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) does not apply to the Mediterranean Sea
    • Continental shelf: 200 metres (660 ft) depth or to the depth of exploitation

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of France; the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

France (mainland Europe)

France (metropolitan)

France (including départements d'outre mer)

France (territory of the French Republic, including collectivités territoriales and pays et territoires d'outre-mer)

Temperature Extremes

These are the extreme temperatures in France.

Climate data for France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9)		 28.3
(82.9)		 29.2
(84.6)		 32.1
(89.8)		 35.6
(96.1)		 45.9
(114.6)		 43.9
(111.0)		 44.1
(111.4)		 38.0
(100.4)		 35.8
(96.4)		 27.1
(80.8)		 26.9
(80.4)		 45.9
(114.6)
Record low °C (°F) −41.0
(−41.8)		 −35
(−31)		 −32.0
(−25.6)		 −19.0
(−2.2)		 −10
(14)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −14.0
(6.8)		 −29.0
(−20.2)		 −37.0
(−34.6)		 −41.0
(−41.8)

[1]

See also

Lists:

General:

References
  1. http://www.meteofrance.fr/actualites/73726667-record-absolu-de-chaleur-battu-45-9-c-dans-le-gard-du-jamais-vu-en-france
  • (in French) GéoPortail - Geography portal of France, high altitude imagery, maps ...
  • A detailed map of France showing all régions and numbered départements, including their préfectures.
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