Lower Normandy

I

Introduction

Lower Normandy or Basse-Normandie, administrative region, north-western France. It lies on the coast of the English Channel with the regions of Upper Normandy to the east, Centre to the south-east, Pays de la Loire to the south, and Brittany to the west. It consists of three departments (départements): Calvados, Manche, and Orne. Lower Normandy has a total land area of 17,589 sq km (6,791 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

The principal rivers of the region are the Dives, Orne, Vire, Touques, and Selune. Mainly low-lying, there are two main ranges: the Perche in the south-east and the Massif Armoricain in the south. In the west of the region is the rocky Cotentin peninsula with its treacherous coastal reefs. The Cotentin and the Bessin Wetlands Regional Nature Park, designated in 1991, covers an area of 145,000 hectares (358,300 acres), including 25,000 hectares (61,800 acres) of wetlands. The park’s marshlands provide an important wintering ground for migratory wildfowl and serve as a breeding ground for several species of ducks, geese, and waders. In the area around Caen and Falaise are the Normandy woodlands (or Bocage), where the fields and orchards are bound by hedgerows. This landscape forms part of the Normandie-Maine Regional Nature Park, which extends into the Pays de la Loire. About one fifth of the park is forested, with dense oak, beech, pine, hazel, and ash woodlands.

III

Population

Around 1,453,000 people live in Lower Normandy (2007 estimate). The region has a large rural population, with an average population density of 82 people per sq km (212 per sq mi). The largest city and regional capital is Caen (population, 2005 estimate, 109,200). Other significant towns include Alençon (2005 estimate, 28,800); Cherbourg (2005 estimate, 40,700); Saint-Lô (2005 estimate, 19,900); Bayeux (1999, 14,961); Granville (1999, 12,687); Avranches (1999, 8,500); Falaise (1999, 8,434); Valognes (1999, 7,537); and Deauville (1999, 4,364).

Higher education courses are offered by the University of Caen Lower Normandy, which was founded in 1432 by the English king Henry VI. The stretch of coastline between the River Orne and the Cotentin peninsula was the site of the Allied forces D-Day landings of June 6, 1944 towards the end of World War II. More than 120,000 American, British, and Canadian troops were involved in the Normandy Campaign, which began with the largest seaborne invasion in history, when the Allies stormed five beaches—codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno—to invade German-occupied northern France. In the west of the region near the border with Brittany is Le Mont-St-Michel, a small rocky islet crowned with a Benedictine abbey. Le Mont-St-Michel and the surrounding bay were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman invasion of England and William the Conqueror's conquest of the country at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is on display at the Centre Guillaume-le-Conquérant in Bayeux.

IV

Economy

Agriculture plays a central role in Lower Normandy’s economy: approximately 10 per cent of the workforce is employed in this sector. Stock-breeding predominates, but the raising of cattle and horses is also important. The region is traditionally famous for its dairy products (such as the fine cheeses Camembert and Pont L’Eveque) and apples, from which the brandy calvados is made. Other produce includes plums, pears, wheat, barley, and oats. Shipping and industrial activities there are focused around Cherbourg. Industry employs around 24 per cent of the region’s population, mainly in car manufacture, food processing, and chemical production.