Geography
Charente-Maritime is part of the Poitou-Charentes administrative region. It is the second largest and the most populated department in the region with a land area of 6864 km² and 598 915 inhabitants as of 2006.
The important rivers are the Charente and its tributaries, the Boutonne and the Seugne, along with the Sèvre Niortaise, the Seudre, and the Garonne, in its downstream part, which is the estuary of the Gironde.
The department includes the islands of Île de Ré, Île d'Aix, and Ile d'Oléron.
The department forms the northern part of the Aquitaine basin. It is separated from the Massif Armoricain by the Marais Poitevin to the north-west and from the Parisian basin by the Seuil du Poitou to the north-east. The highest point in the department is in the woods of Chantemerlière, near the commune of Contré in the north-east, and rises to 173 m.
Charente-Maritime is surrounded by the departments of Gironde, Charente, Deux-Sèvres, Dordogne and Vendée.
Read more about this topic: Charente-Maritime
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