Fundamentals: Geography Flashcards
France is divided into how many administrative regions?
13
Administrative regions are divided into what smaller divisions?
Administrative departements/departments
What are the Administrative departments divided into?
Communes; usually a single village or town, headed up by a mayor (le or la maire)
Is there any relationship between the political geography of France and the boundaries of wine regions?
No; the administrative structure of France does not necessarily correpond to wine region boundaries.
Why is France affectionately referred to as “L’Hexagone”?
Translated to “the hexagon”, due to its six-sided shape.
How large is France compared to other countries in Europe?
It is the largest country in Western Europe.
Mainland France is approx. 580mi/935km wide (at its widest) and 600mi/965km long (at its longest) with an impressive 3,637mi/5,853km of coastline.
What geographical features surround France?
- English Channel (la Manche) separates France from the UK to the north
- Atlantic Ocean: borders to the west
- Pyrenees Mountains: barrier to the Iberian Peninsula to the south
- Mediterranean Sea: lies to the south
- Maritime Alps: forms vertical divide from Italy
- Jura Mountains: separates from Switzerland
What countries border France?
- Germany: abuts the northeastern sector
- Luxembourg: abuts the northeastern sector
- Belgium: abuts the northeastern sector
- Monaco: ensconsced in the lower foothills of the Maritime Alps within Provence
What Mediterranean island is part of France?
Corsica
It lies 100mi/160km southeast of mainland France, 7mi/11km north of Sardinia and 50mi/80km west of Italy.
It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean and the 4th largest in size (after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus).
What are the latitudes at which France lies at?
Between the 41st and 51st parallels north.
What are the geological areas that the “hexagon” is composed of?
- Armorican Massif
- Central Massif
- Paris Basin
- Aquitaine Basin
- a long rift system
What are Massifs?
Landforms of varied nature and origin. Typically, areas of bedrock that are more resisant to erosion than the surrounding areas, often because the rocks are geologicallly older, and are commonly higher.
Where is the Massif Central located?
This tight amalgamation of mountains and plateaus is located in the south-central portion of the country encompassing roughly 15% or one-sixth of the entire surface of France.
The headwaters of many important rivers are located within these uplands, as are:
* Grands Causses: high limestone plateaus incised by gorges
* high plateau of Limousin
* Cevennes Mountains
* Montagne Noire
* western fringes of the Rhone & Saone river valleys
* a cluster of 450 extinct volcanoes
How high does most of the Massif Central lie?
Between 2,000-3,000ft/600-900m in elevation.
What features of the Massif Central allows the prevailing westerly, and cold north winds blow relatively unobstructed across much of the country?
The Loire River valley & Paris Basin to the north, the Bresse Plain to the east, the coastal plains of the Mediterranean to the south and the coastal flats of the Aquitaine Basin to the west all fan out around the massive tangle of stone at significantly lower elevations of around 650ft/200m.
This forces vignerons at lower elevations to choose vineyard sites with their “backs to the wind and their faces to the sun.”
How did the Massifs Central and Armoricain form?
These massifs are igneous & metamorphic rocks formed a billion years ago or more. They were internally deformed and uplifted about 350 million years ago during a mountain building period referred to as Variscan or Hercyian.
During the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (approx. 200-65 million years ago) these uplands were eroded down and sometimes became submerged under the sea. Younger strata were deposited upon them.
Over time, these layers of rock/sediment ballooned to the surface due to heat changes at depth to make land. Some of the younger strata eroded away revealing the ancient rocks below. These areas of tougher, older, rocks still make higher land. In the case of the Massif Central young volcanoes have erupted within them.
The Massif Central and Massif Armoricain are geologically related and joined at depth, beneath the younger strata.
Where is the Massif Armoricain located?
This covers a large portions of northwestern France encompassing Brittany, the western portion of Normandy and the Lower Loire.
How large is the Massif Armoricain?
Approx. 1,400ft/427m above sea level and 25,00mi²/65,000km² in size.
Where is the Paris Basin located?
This geologic depression or bowl roughly corresponds to the drainage basin of the Seine River.
How much area does the Paris Basin cover?
Approx. 54,050mi²/140,000km²
How old are the soils in Paris Basin?
These sedimentary soils comprise stratified marine deposits that formed when this portion of France was under warm shallow seas intermittently from the Triassic (251mya) to the Pliocene (2.6mya).
Where is the Aquitaine Basin located?
It is tightly framed by the Pyrenees, Massif Central and Atlantic Ocean but opens to the Paris Basin to the north.
How much area does Aquitaine Basin cover?
Approx. 25,000mi²/65,000km². It is triangular in shape and is not uniform in structure.
How old are the soils in Aquitaine Basin?
It was formed during intermittent marine incursions from the Triassic (251mya) to the Pliocene eras (2.6mya).
What are the geological characteristics of Aquitaine Basin?
- The north is characterized by a plateau with fewer and thinner layers of sedimentation.
- The south has more convoluted terrain with deeper layers of sedimentation.
How were the rift valleys of France formed?
As the Alps rose, round 34-24mya, the earth’s crust under the plains to the north became stretched. In places, the earth’s internal heat caused these thinned rockes to bulge upwards.
Later, the crest of the bulge collapsed to form these systems of rift valleys.
What areas make up the rift system?
The Upper Rhine Graben, which is flanked by the Vosges Mountains in France and the Black Forest in Germany.
Further south, the Saone Graben (part of the larger Bresse or Rhone Graben) is flanked by the Morvan uplands to the west and the Jura Mountains to the east.
What areas of the rift system make prime vineyard land?
- The Cote d’Or escarpment on the western flank of the Saone Graben
- vineyards of Alsace planted on the foothills of the Vosges on the western flank of the Rhine Graben
What are some reasons for planted vineyards on hillsides?
- In cooler & temperate growing areas, cold air sinks and settles at the base of slopes making higher planting ideal.
- In warmer growing areas, elevation offers respite from heat.
- Slopes typically drain well; grapevines do not like “wet feet”.
How much can the temperature drop with the influence of elevation?
For every 250ft/76m increase in elevation, the temperature drops 1°F/0.56°C.
Where is the sweet spot for ideal vineyard land on slopes?
Mid-slope
- Soils are typically neither too thin nor too deep (steeper/upper portions do not absorb enough water from rainfalls, while lower slopes often gather too much)
- the aspect promotes optimal sunshine (the sun is lower in the sky in northern latitudes)
What are the benefits of east-facing slopes?
- captures early morning sun, drying up heavy dew
- helps mitigate disease pressure from rot & mildew
- in cooler, higher-latitude areas (Bourgogne), soils warm quickly at the coolest part of the 24-hour cycle (dawn)
What are the benefits of south-facing slopes?
- receives the most sun & heat of all aspects
- “backs” are to the cold north winds
- grapes ripen with ample sugar levels & mature tannins (but run the risk of lower acidity)
What are the benefits of west-facing slopes?
- receives sunshine later in the day
- receives some of the hottest rays after a relatively cool morning
Note: some grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir, do not like such daily temperature extremes.
What are the benefits/challenges of north-facing slopes?
- receives the least amound of sunshine & heat
- grapes tend to ripen to moderate sugar levels, preserving a significant amount of acidity
- some grapes run the risk of contributing herbaceous flavors and less mature tannins
- some varieties thrive (Aligote of Bouzeron in the Cote Chalonnaise)
Historically, what have been considered to be the “ideal” vineyard slope orientations in France?
- South
- Southeast
- East
However, many worry that global warming may render some of these sites too warm for the varieties to which they are now planted.
What are the 2 types of rivers found in France?
- Fleuves: rivers that flow into a body of water such as a sea or lake
- Rivieres: rivers that flow into other rivers
The river names are based on where they terminate.