Geography of France

Geography of France

Location:

Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 2 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:

• total: 547,030 km²
• land: 545,630 km²
• water: 1,400 km²note: includes only metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

Land boundaries:

• total: 2,889 km

Border countries: 

• Andorra 56.6 km,
  

  France occupies a crossroads location among the countries of Europe

• Belgium 620 km,
• Germany 451 km,
• Italy 488 km,
• Luxembourg 73 km,
• Monaco 4.4 km,
• Spain 623 km,
• Switzerland 573 km

Coastline:

• total: 3,427 km

Maritime claims:

• contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles
• continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
• exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (does not apply to the Mediterranean)
• territorial sea: 12 nautical miles

Internal Divisions:

France is divided into 15 metropolitan regions, which are subdivided into a hundred départements, which are further divided into 36,779 communes

Climate:

Generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean

Terrain:

Mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east

Elevation extremes:

Lowest point:

• Rhone River delta -2 m

highest point:

• Mont Blanc 4,808 m

Natural resources:

• coal, iron ore,
• bauxite, zinc,
• fish, timber, potash

Land use:

• arable land: 33%
• permanent crops: 2%
• permanent pastures: 20%
• forests and woodland: 27%
• other: 18% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

• 16,300 km² (1995 est.)

Natural hazards:

• flooding; avalanches

Environment – current issues:

• Some forest damage from acid rain (major forest damage occurred as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm)

• air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions
• water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff

Environment – international agreements:

Party to:

• Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,

• Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
• Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
• Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
• Whaling

Signed, but not ratified:

• Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,

• Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography – note:

• Largest West European nation;

• occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral

Cities and major towns or those of historical significance include:

Abbeville, Ajaccio, Albertville, Albi, Amiens, Angers, Angouleme, Aurillac, Bastia, Besançon, Bordeaux, Belfort, Brest, Brive, Caen, Cahors, Calais, Cannes, Carcassonne, Chamonix, Charleville-Mezieres, Chatellerault, Chinon, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Deauville, Dieppe, France, Digne-les-Bains, Dijon, Dole, Domremy, Dreux, Dunkerque, Evreux, Grenoble, La Baule, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Mende, Metz, Mont-de-Marsan, Montauban, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Nimes, Orléans, Paris, Pau, Perigueux, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Rodez, Roubaix,Rouen, Saint-Gaudens, Saint-Etienne, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Tropez, Saumur, Sete, Soissons, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse, Tours, Tourcoing, Valence, Vichy

 Topography of France viewed from Space