The geography of France consists of a terrain that is mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and the west and mountainous in the south (including the Massif Central and the Pyrenees) and the east (the country's highest points being in the Alps). Metropolitan France has a total size of 551,695 km2 (213,011 mi2) (Europe only). It is the third-largest country in Europe by area (after Russia and Ukraine) and the largest in Western Europe.
Physical geography of Metropolitan France
Climate
Metropolitan France's territory is relatively large and so its climate is not uniform and gives rise to the following climate nuances:
The cool semi-arid climate (BSk) is found in the western part of the Bouches-du-Rhône area and the Roussillon plain of the Pyrénées-Orientales. Summers are hot, winters are cool winters. There is insufficient average annual rainfall in some years. The hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) is found along the Gulf of Lion and further inland. Summers are hot and dry, winters are cool and autumns can be very rainy near the Cévennes. The warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) is found in the northwestern part of Brittany and along the Gulf of Lion but higher in altitude, in the mountains. Summers are warm (but not hot) and dry, winters are cool and can be cold in the mountains and autumns are rainy. The humid subtropical climate (Cfa) is found in southwestern France, in the Toulouse area. In France, the humid subtropical climate is not as hot and humid as in the Southeastern United States. Summers are hot and wetter than in the Mediterranean Basin, and winters are cool and somewhat foggy in the plains. The oceanic climate (Cfb) concerns a large part of France, as far as Champagne and Burgundy and of course around the coasts of the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and the North Sea. Summers are pleasantly warm (rarely hot), somewhat dry and winters are cool and wet. The subalpine oceanic climate (Cfc) is found at the foot of the Pyrenees, Massif Central and western French Alps as in the mountains of the Vercors Massif and the Chartreuse Mountains. Summers are short, cool and wet, and winters are moderately cold, long and snowy. The warm-summer dry-summer continental climate (Dsb) is found in all the mountainous regions of Southern France between 700 and 1,400 metres a.s.l. Summers are pleasantly warm and dry, and winters are very cold and snowy. The cool-summer dry-summer continental climate (Dsc) is found in all the mountainous regions of Southern France between 1,400 and 2,300-2,400 metres a.s.l. Summers are cool, short and dry, and winters are very cold and snowy. The warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) is found in the far east of France or in all the mountain ranges far from the ocean or the sea. Summers are warm to hot and stormy and winters are cold and somewhat dry, and snow is not uncommon. Above 500–600 meters a.s.l in the northeastern quarter of France, the snowpack can persist throughout the winter. In January 1985, in Mouthe, the temperature has dropped under −41.2 °C (−42.2 °F). The subalpine climate (Dfc) is found in all the mountainous regions of France between 1,100-1,400 meters a.s.l in the Vosges mountains and 1,400-2,300 metres a.s.l in the southern French Alps or in the Pyrenees. Summers are cool, short and stormy while winters are very cold, long and snowy. The alpine tundra climate (ET) is found in all the mountainous regions of France, generally above 2,000 or 2,300-2,400 metres a.s.l depending on the mountain ranges. Summers are chilly, stormy and windy and winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. The ice cap climate (EF) is found in all the mountainous regions of France that have a glacier, in the highest mountains of the Alps or the Pyrenees. The climate in the Mont Blanc massif (up to 4,810 meters a.s.l) is an ice cap climate for example. Summers are cold and wet and winters are extremely cold, long and snowy. Climate change in France includes above average heating.
Elevation extremes Lowest point: Étang de Lavalduc, Bouches-du-Rhône -10 m Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,808 m
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, silver
Natural hazards Flooding, Hailstorms, 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 northcentral part of the 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 northwest is characterized by high, chalk cliffs, while the Brittany coast (the peninsula to the west) is highly indented in places that deep valleys were drowned by the sea, and the Biscay coast to the southwest is marked by flat, sandy beaches. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,433 km2 of tidal flats in France, making it the 23rd ranked country in terms of tidal flat area.
Political geography
Internal divisions
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