World Guide - France

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A collection of maps and geographic information for France, including outline, detailed and regional maps, and selected physical data

Outline Map · Geographic Data · Detailed Country Map

Country Outline Map [Top]

Geographic Data [Top]
France is located in 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, in the timezone GMT 1. The country has boundaries of 2,889 - Andorra 56.6, Belgium 620, Germany 451, Italy 488, Luxembourg 73, Monaco 4.4, Spain 623, Switzerland 573
Guadeloupe: 10.2 (Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2)
French Guiana: 1,183 (Brazil 673, Suriname 510) (km), and a coastline of 4,668 (3,427 mainland France) (km). Major urban areas: Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulouse.

Elevations
Lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Physical Features
River Seine, Alps (Mont Blanc, 4,807 m), Pyrenees, Jura Mountains, Armorican Massif, Massif Central, Cevennes Mountains, Vosges Mountains, Ardennes, Loire valley, Loire river, River Rhone, Garonne river, Jean Bernard caves, Pierre-Saint-Martin caves, Berger caves

Hazards
Flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean (overseas departments: hurricanes (cyclones), flooding, volcanic activity (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion))

Climate
Metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Natural Resources
Coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish. French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay

Land Use
Arable land: 33.46% permanent crops: 2.03% other: 64.51% note: French Guiana - arable land 0.13%, permanent crops 0.04%, other 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other); Guadeloupe - arable land 11.70%, permanent crops 2.92%, other 85.38%; Martinique - arable land 9.09%, permanent crops 10.0%, other 80.91%; Reunion - arable land 13.94%, permanent crops 1.59%, other 84.47% (2005)

Renewable Water Resources
189 cu km (2005)

Fresh Water Withdrawal
total: 33.16 cu km/yr (16%/74%/10%) per capita: 548 cu m/yr (2000)

Environmental Issues
Some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff

Detailed country map [Top]