Geography of the Vendée

The the Vendée is a coastal department basic altitude which extends on 6720 km ² and counts approximately 540.000 inhabitants (1999). Its Préfecture is with the Roche-sur-Yon, and its two sub-prefectures with Fontenay-the-Count and the Sand-with Olonne.

The territory

the littoral: One can distinguish in the west from the department a coast to the sometimes sandy shores (Saint-Jean-of-Mounts), sometimes rock (Saint-Gilles-Cross-of-Life). Let us not forget the Baie of Bourgneuf in north and the bay of the Pivot in the south which are two vast muddy zones. More at the west are located the Île of Yeu and the island of Noirmoutier. Noirmoutier is connected to the continent by a bridge but also by famous the Passage of Gois, fitted immersible with the high tide longest of Europe.

marshes: There exist two marshes: the Breton Marsh in western north, between Challans and Beauvoir-on-Sea, which extends until in Loire-Atlantique and the Marais poitevin in the South which is distributed on all the south of the Vendée, the north of the Charente-Maritime and even south-east from the Two-Sevres. One can distinguish the marsh poitevin in two types: the “dry” marsh in the west and the “wet” marsh (also called “Venice green”) in the east.

the plain: In the north of the marsh poitevin large the flat of remarkable Luçon by its monotonous succession of cereal fields is.

scrap-metal: The Vendean Bocage occupies the major part of the Vendean territory. It represents the southernmost termination of the Armorican Massif. Succession of fields surrounded by hedges, this landscape is especially favourable with the breeding. One will there too distinguish the low-scrap-metal (in the center and the west) and the high-scrap-metal (in the east). The low-scrap-metal includes/understands many rivers regularly supplied with the oceanic rains and is not very undulating. The high-scrap-metal located in the area of the Herbaria and Pouzauges, is a granitic country with the strongly undulating relief, one finds there in particular the Mont of the Larks. Saint-Michel-Mount-Mercury with its 290 m proves to be the culminating point of the Vendée.

forests and rivers: Many a wood strew the department. However, only the national forest of the countries of Mounts (forest of pines and dune on the littoral) and especially the Forêt of Mervent (in the east, in the north of Fontenay-The-Count) can claim under forest. As for the rivers, the Vendée being a rather wet department, many rivers furrow its grounds. One will note of them some which the Vie, the Lay, the the Vendée, the Boulogne, the Nantes Sèvre and the Niort Sèvre.

Population

The Vendée is a department fairly populated (80 habitants/km ²) but with a population growth supported since second half of the 20th century. With regard to the size of its communes, only the Roche-sur-Yon is dissociated with more than 50.000 inhabitants. Then come Challans (16 000 hab.), Sands of Olonne (15 500 hab.), the Herbaria (14 000 hab.), Fontenay-The-Count (14 000 hab.), Castle-with Olonne (12 000 hab.), Olonne-on-Sea (10 000 hab.), Luçon (9 000 hab.)… However, one can gather all the communes of the country of Olonne in an agglomeration of approximately 40.000 inhabitants. Lastly, the pattern of the settlements is not equal on all the territory. The cities of the east or the interior of the scrap-metal tend to lose inhabitants whereas the cities of the littoral observe a strong growth of their population.

Random links: