Geography France
The geography of France is diverse in nature, one of the reasons that it is so popular with
tourists. Its landmass is huge and includes the beautiful Mediterranean and rugged Atlantic
coasts, a very old central massif and very high mountain ranges.
The country is bordered by the English Channel to the west, Spain’s border is in the south,
Italy and Switzerland lie to the southeast, Germany’s border is in the east and Luxembourg
and Belgium border France in the north.
France is about the size of California and is divided up into ninety six departments or regions.
The country also owns five territories overseas, Reunion, French Guyana, French Polynesia,
Guadeloupe and Martinique. France’s central area consists of some very old groups of hills
called the Central Massif. The Dordogne and Burgundy, famous for their lovely landscapes
and their fine wines, are located in the Central Massif.
France has great rivers and lovely river valleys. The valley of the Rhone, which runs north
south through the country, is a very popular holiday location. The Loire, the Rhine, Garonne
and the Seine are all major waterways with beautiful scenery along their banks.
The flat country around the north east of France is mainly agricultural. The rugged coast of
Brittany on the Atlantic seaboard is very popular with U.K. holidaymakers. Normandy has
some impressive chalk cliffs similar to those on the south coast of England. The further south
you travel the flatter the coastal strip becomes with some very good beaches.
Bordering Spain is the mountain range of the Pyrenees and in contrast are the lovely beaches
of the Mediterranean coast. The beaches are picture postcard material with sublime bays,
somewhat stony beaches and hilly backdrops.
The jewel in France’s crown is regarded by some as the Alpine region. Including the Jura
Range of mountains the Alps border Italy and Switzerland. The highest mountain in the range
and the highest in Europe is Mont Blanc.
In the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of France lies the island of Corsica. The French are
the fortunate owners of this lovely island.
The country is well forested with some one fifth of the land area being so covered. This is
fortunate as the wildlife in the country has suffered due to urban growth and mostly finds a
safe haven in the forests. The forests are mainly hardwood consisting of beech and oak but
there are some pine plantations. The wildlife also benefits from some very large areas of
wetlands which support huge numbers of birds and mammals.