The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It juts out northwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands To its west lie the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands
The peninsula lies wholly within the département of Manche, in the région of Basse-Normandie. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche ("the sleeve" which is the French name for the English France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Basse-Normandie ('Lower Normandy' is an administrative region of France.
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Geography
It is part of the Armorican Massif and lies between the estuary of the Vire River and Mont Saint Michel Bay. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open The Vire is a River in Normandy in France whose 128 km course crosses the départements of Calvados and Manche Mont Saint-Michel ( English: St Michael's Mount) is a rocky Tidal island in Normandy, France. It is divided into three areas: the headland of La Hague, the Cotentin Pass, and the valley of the Saire River (Val-de-Saire). Not to be confused with the Dutch city named The Hague. La Hague is a region on the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy
It forms the bulk of the Manche département. Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche ("the sleeve" which is the French name for the English In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division
The largest town in the peninsula is Cherbourg on the north coast, a major cross-channel port. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo
Other towns of note: Coutances, Barfleur, Saint-Lô, Bricquebec, Granville, Barneville-Carteret, Carentan, Avranches. Coutances is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Manche département, of which it is a Sous-préfecture Saint-Lô is a town and commune of France, the Préfecture (capital of the Manche département, in Bricquebec, a commune of the département of Manche, in the Basse-Normandie région, France. Granville is a coastal commune of the Manche (French name for the Channel) département, in France. Barneville-Carteret is a Village and commune in the Manche département of north-western France. Carentan is a town and commune of the Manche département in Normandy, France. Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.
The western coast of the peninsula, known as la Côte des Îles (the coast of the islands) faces the Channel Islands and ferry links serve Carteret, Granville and the islands (including Chausey). The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Chausey is a group of small Islands islets and rocks that forms part of the Channel Islands from a geographical point of view but because it is under French
Off the east coast of the peninsula lie the island of Tatihou and the Îles Saint-Marcouf. Tatihou is an Island of Normandy in France with an area of 290000 square Metres It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula Îles Saint-Marcouf are a group of two small uninhabited islands off the coast of Normandy, France.
History
The town known today as Coutances, capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, acquired the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. The Unelli or Veneli (Οὐένελοι were one of the Armoric or maritime states of Gallia. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Events By Place Roman Empire Constantius Chlorus defeats the Alamanni in the territory of the Lingones (Langres and strengthens Flavius Valerius Constantius ( March 31 c 250&ndash July 25 306) was an emperor of the Western Roman Empire (305&ndash306 The whole peninsula, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus subsequently became known as the Cotentin. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.
Until the construction of modern roads, the peninsula was almost inaccessible in winter due to the band of marshland cutting off the higher ground of the promontory itself. this explains occasional historical references to the Cotentin as an island. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant
The town of Valognes was, until the French Revolution, a provincial social resort for the aristocracy, nicknamed the Versailles of Normandy. Valognes is a town and commune in Normandy, northwestern France, in the Manche département. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Little remains of the grand houses and châteaux as a result of the destruction of the Battle of Normandy. For other senses of this word see Château (disambiguation. A château (plural châteaux) is a Manor house or residence The social scene was described in the novels of Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly (himself from the Cotentin). Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly ( November 2, 1808 &ndash April 23, 1889) was a French Novelist and Short
The Battle of La Hougue took place in 1692 at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue near Barfleur. The related naval battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place between 29 May and 4 June New Style(NS, 1692 (19th-24 May in the Old Style(OS Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is a commune of Normandy, north-west France.
A significant portion of World War II, through the summer of 1944, was fought in the area. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Economy
The main economical ressource is agriculture. Dairy farming is an a prominent activity. Along the west coast, renown vegetables are grown (carots of Créances). Créances is a Village and commune in the Manche département of north-western France.
The region is also famous for its shellfish culture, like the oysters from Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Pirou, and the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages like cider and calvados, made from local grown apples and pears. Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue is a commune of Normandy, north-west France. Pirou is a Village and commune in the Manche département of north-western France. The French department of Calvados forms part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy.
Nuclear activity is prominent in this remote region of France. At Flamanville there is a nuclear power plant, which in the coming years will see its capacity considerably enlarged by the addition of an extra reactor. Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions Just a few miles to the north of this nuclear site, at Beaumont-Hague, the sprawling, infamous COGEMA La Hague site is located, a treatment plant for nuclear waste. The COGEMA La Hague site is a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant of AREVA in La Hague on the French Cotentin Peninsula that currently Radioactive wastes are Waste types containing radioactive Chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose The roads used for transport of nuclear waste to this heavily guarded site have been blocked many times in the past by environmental actiongroup Greenpeace. Greenpeace, originally known as the Greenpeace Foundation, was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1972 Local environment groups have voiced concerns about the radioactivity levels of the cooling water of both these nuclear sites, which is being flushed into the bay of Vauville. The nuclear sites employ a lot of people from the region.
Tourism is also an important economic activity in this region. Many tourists visit the D-Day invasion beaches, the paratrooper linked town of Sainte-Mère-Église, the American war cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer and the German war cemetery at La Cambe. Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy Colleville-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northern France. La Cambe is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northern France.
Culture
After quitting political life, the political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville retreated to the family estate of Tocqueville where he wrote much of his work. Tocqueville is a Village and commune in the Manche département of north-western France.
Due to its comparative isolation, the peninsula is one of the remaining strongholds of the Norman language, and the local dialect is known as Cotentinais. Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. The northern Norman can be classified in the septentrional Oil languages with Picard and Cotentinais is the Dialect of the Norman language spoken in the Cotentin Peninsula. The Norman language poet Côtis-Capel described the environment of the peninsula, while French language poet Jacques Prévert made his home at Omonville-la-Petite. Côtis-Capel (1915-1986 was the Pen name of Albert Lohier, a Norman language Poet. Jacques Prévert (ʒak pʀeˈvɛʀ in French February 4, 1900 - April 11, 1977) was a French Poet and Screenwriter The painter Jean-François Millet was born in the peninsula. Jean-François Millet ( October 4, 1814 &ndash January 20, 1875) was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon
The Norman language writer Alfred Rossel, native of Cherbourg, composed many songs which form part of the heritage of the region. Rossel's song Sus la mé ("on the sea") is often sung as a regional patriotic song.
Footnotes
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