Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ré, island, France

(Encyclopedia)Ré rā [key], island (1991 pop. 13,973), 33 sq mi (85 sq km), Charente-Maritime dept., off La Rochelle, W France, in the Bay of Biscay. The island is largely agricultural; it has oyster beds, some fi...

Tarn, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Tarn tärn [key], department (1990 pop. 343,400), S France, in Languedoc. Albi is the capital. ...

Tarn, river, France

(Encyclopedia)Tarn, river, c.235 mi (380 km) long, rising in the Cévennes Mts., S France, and flowing southwest before emptying into the Garonne River. Deep gorges and canyons formed by the river are tourist attra...

Valence, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Valence väläNsˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 65,026), capital of Drôme dept., SE France, in Dauphiné, on the Rhône River. Its many manufactures include metallurgical products, textiles, leather goods,...

Somme, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Somme sôm [key], department (1990 pop. 548,300), N France, in Picardy, on the English Channel. Amiens is the capital. ...

Somme, river, France

(Encyclopedia)Somme, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising near Saint-Quentin, N France, and flowing generally NW past Amiens into the English Channel; connected by canal with the Scheldt and Oise rivers. Once an o...

Ain, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Ain ăN [key], department, E central France, in Burgundy, bordering on Switzerland. Bourg-en-Bresse is the capital. ...

Rhône, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Rhône rōn [key], department (1990 pop. 1,516,500), E central France, in parts of Beaujolais and Lyonnais. Lyons is the capital. ...

Orléans, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Orléans, city (1990 pop. 107,965), capital of Loiret dept., N central France, on the Loire River. A commercial and transportation center, it has food-processing, tobacco, machine-building, electrical...

Orange, town, France

(Encyclopedia)Orange ôräNzhˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 28,136), Vaucluse dept., SE France. An agricultural market center, the town also produces refined sugar, pâtés, preserves, wool, and shoes. Tourism is also i...