France

metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral

French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average

Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)

Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano Mayotte: generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast

metropolitan France: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain French Guiana: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname Guadeloupe: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico Martinique: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago Mayotte: Southern Indian Ocean, island in the Mozambique Channel, about halfway between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique Reunion: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar

4,853 km

metropolitan France: 3,427 km

14,236 sq km (2020)

Paris Basin

metropolitan France: Europe French Guiana: South America Guadeloupe: Central America and the Caribbean Martinique: Central America and the Caribbean Mayotte: Africa Reunion: World

metropolitan France: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south overseas departments: hurricanes (cyclones); flooding volcanism: Montagne Pelée (1,394 m) on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean is the most active volcano of the Lesser Antilles arc, although it last erupted in 1932; a catastrophic eruption in 1902 destroyed the city of St. Pierre, killing an estimated 30,000 people; La Soufrière (1,467 m) on the island of Guadeloupe has also had explosive eruptions in recent years

largest Western European nation; most major French rivers -- the Meuse, Seine, Loire, Charente, Dordogne, and Garonne -- flow northward or westward into the Atlantic Ocean, only the Rhone flows southward into the Mediterranean Sea

metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, arable land, fish; French Guiana : gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay

slightly more than four times the size of Georgia; slightly less than the size of Texas

metropolitan France: 46 00 N, 2 00 E French Guiana: 4 00 N, 53 00 W Guadeloupe: 16 15 N, 61 35 W Martinique: 14 40 N, 61 00 W Mayotte: 12 50 S, 45 10 E Reunion: 21 06 S, 55 36 E

much of the population is concentrated in the north and southeast; although there are many urban agglomerations throughout the country, Paris is by far the largest city, with Lyon ranked a distant second

Rhin (Rhine) (shared with Switzerland [s], Germany, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km; Loire - 1,012 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth