Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Gironde zhērôNdˈ [key], department, SW France, on the Bay of Biscay. Bordeaux is the capital. ...

(Encyclopedia) Laval, town (1990 pop. 53,478), capital of Mayenne dept., NW France, in Maine. It has been noted for its linen products since the 14th cent. Among its other industrial products are textiles, shoes, fu...

(Encyclopedia) Moselle mōzĕlˈ [key], department (1990 pop. 1,011,400), NE France, bordering on Luxembourg and Germany. Metz is the capital. ...

(Encyclopedia) Dordogne, river, c.305 mi (490 km) long, rising near the Puy de Sancy in the Auvergne Mts., S central France. It flows southwest to join the Garonne River N of Bordeaux and to form the Gironde. The up...

(Encyclopedia) Charente, river, 220 mi (354 km) long, rising near Limoges, W France, and flowing W to the Bay of Biscay. The river flows past Angoulême (the head of navigation), Cognac, Saintes, and Rochefort, and ...

(Encyclopedia) Somme sôm [key], department (1990 pop. 548,300), N France, in Picardy, on the English Channel. Amiens is the capital. ...

(Encyclopedia) Clamart klämärˈ [key], suburb SW of Paris, Hauts-de-Seine dept., N central France. There a...

(Encyclopedia) Vouet, Simon sēmôNˈ vwā [key], 1590–1649, French portrait and decorative painter. He first established himself as a successful painter in Rome. Recalled to France in 1627 as court painter to Lou...

(Encyclopedia) Meudon mödôNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 46,173), Hauts-de-Seine dept., N central France, a suburb SW of Paris. Metal products, automobile bodies, and explosives are the chief manufactures. The astroph...

(Encyclopedia) Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste frādārēkˈ ōgüstˈ bärtōldēˈ [key], 1834–1904, French sculptor, b. Colmar, Alsace. He studied painting under Ary Scheffer but turned to sculpture. Among his ma...