Charente-Maritime

The department of the Charente-Maritime (17) is a department French located in the area Poitou-Charentes.

History

The department was created with the French revolution, the March 4th 1790 pursuant to the law of the December 22nd 1789, starting from old the provinces of Aunis and Saintonge. The inhabitants of the Saintonge and the Aunis provided important quotas of emigrants who fixed themselves in News-France (Quebec). Many words of the vocabulary saintongeais remain in the language Québécois of today.

It bore the name of Charente-Lower until the September 4th 1941. In fact the Cognac exporters required the change to preserve the reputation of quality of their products.

Policy

  • List of the deputies of the Charente-Maritime

  • List of the senators of the Charente-Maritime
  • List of the general advisers of the Charente-Maritime
  • List of the prefects of the Charente-Maritime

Geography

The Charente-Maritime is bordering on the departments of the the Gironde, of the Charente, the Two-Sevres and the the Vendée.

Its culminating point is with 173 meters height and is in the Wood of Chantemerlière (commune of Contré) in the North-East of the department.

The department includes/understands 4 islands, the island of Oléron, the Ile de Ré, the island-in Aix and the island Madam. There are 71 beaches on all the department.

Four Fleuve S throw in the Atlantic Ocean in Charente-Maritime:

The principal affluents of Charente are the Boutonne and the Seugne.

The marshes are numerous: Marsh of Right Bank of the Gironde, marsh of the peninsula of Arvert, Seudre, Broue and Brouage, Saint-Froult, Saint-Hippolyte, of Rochefort, of Buttons, Trézence, of the Brie, Saint-Michel marsh, marsh poitevin, marsh of D and Oléron. Several forests are also located in the department:

  • in the South-west of the department, the Forest of Coubre in the peninsula of Arvert and that of Saint-Trojan which prolongs it on Oléron.
  • in the North of the department, those of Benon, Chizé and Aulnay.
  • in the East Wood located between Saint-Jean-with Angély, Holy and Cognac.
  • and finally forests of the Moor and Bussac in the South.

The department is served by TGV with Surgères and La Rochelle. Two autouroutes, the A10 (Paris - Bordeaux via Holy) and the A837 (Holy - Rochefort), also serve the department. It is necessary to add the Niort-Nantes highway which does not cross the department but serves La Rochelle.


Climate

The climate from which the Charente-Maritime profits is a moderate oceanic climate, marked by an important average sunning. The rainfall is moderated there, precipitations not exceeding 1200 mm per annum. The temperatures, as for them, vary on average + 5°C in winter with + 20°C in summer. There exists however a contrast between the littoral, rather dry and shone upon and the interior of the grounds, more rainy. Pluviometry passes from 750 mm on the littoral to 950 mm into High Saintonge, and the cold winter ones are more intense as soon as one moves away from the coasts. The storms are frequent inside the grounds, especially along Charente.

These climatic specificities, dry and sunny summers, soft and wet winters, led to the establishment of vegetation of a Mediterranean type which cohabits with a more continental or oceanic vegetation. It is indeed in Charente-Maritime that one counts in France, the most spontaneous Mediterranean species pushing apart from the zone of influence of the Mediterranean (the Gironde arrives in second position).

Economy

The economy in Charente-Maritime is mainly related to the Tourisme.
The Charente-Maritime exploits also its natural reserves to cultivate and produce various food:

The industrial sector on the other hand is developed little.

  • Water sport (manufacturers: Dufour, Amel, Fountaine-Pajot…) .
  • Transport (Alstom: manufacture of the TGV, trams) .
  • Imports - exports by the ports of Pallice and Rochefort.

The unemployment rate of the department is higher than the national average, but decreases more strongly than with the national scales: from 11,1% in 2004, it passed to 9,6% in 2006, with a fall of 11,4% between 2005 and 2006, which is higher than the regional fall (- 11,1%) and than the national fall (- 10%).

Demography

The inhabitants of the Charente-Maritime are theMaritime ones and were 557.024 at the time of the census of 1999. In 1876, 465.628 Resident of Charente-Maritime had been listed.

Culture

The speech of the Charente-Maritime is the Charente-native Patois called also Patois saintongeais, which was recognized on February 27th, 2007 by the Ministry for the culture, Langue of France under the term of Langue saintongeaise

Tourism

The climatic conditions, particularly lenient, the important architectural heritage of the department, whose fortifications of La Rochelle of Brouage and many Gallo-Roman vestiges , and islands (Aix, Madam, Oléron and D), make of the Charente-Maritime a holiday place appreciated, and the second tourist department of France.

Others

The department of the Charente-Maritime is the department more touched by the Tornade S each year. Indeed, one counts there about 7% of all the cases of tornadoes in France, that is to say 31 cases for this only department. There was in 1654 the largest tornado of the world. |date=

Excursion in Charente-Maritime

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