HAUTE-MARNE, a department of north-eastern France, made up of districts belonging to the former province of Cham pagne (Bassigny, Perthois, Vallage), with smaller portions of Lorraine and Burgundy, and some fragments of Franche-Comte. Area, 2,42o sq.m. Pop. (1931) 189,791. It is bounded northeast by Meuse, east by Vosges, south-east by Haute-Saone, south and south-west by Cote d'Or, west by Aube, and north-west by Marne. Its greatest elevation (1,693 ft.) is in the plateau of Langres between the sources of the Marne and those of the Aube ; the watershed between the Rhone and the Seine and Meuse, formed by the plateau of Langres continued north-east by the Monts Faucilles, has an average height of 1,5oo or 1,600 ft. To the north is Bassigny (the paybas or low country, as distinguished from the highlands), a district characterized by monotonous flats of lit tle fertility and extensive wooded tracts. The principal river of the department is the Marne. It receives on the right the Rognon, and on the left the Blaise. The western portion is watered by the Aube and its tributary the Aujon, both of which have their sources on the plateau of Langres. The Meuse rises in the Monts Faucilles, and has a course of 31 m. within the department. The Apance, the Amance, the Salon and the Vingeanne are tributaries of the Saone. The mean temperature is ° F, nearly that of Paris; the rainfall is slightly below the average for France.
Agriculture is carried on by small proprietors. The chief crops are wheat and oats ; potatoes, lucerne and mangel-wurzels are next in importance. Horse and cattle-raising flourish in Bassigny. The white wine of Soyers is notable. The department is rich in iron and building stone is quarried. The warm springs of Bour bonne-les-Bains are among the earliest known and most fre quented in France. Industrial establishments include blast fur naces, foundries, forges, plate-rolling works, and shops for nail making and smith's work of various descriptions. St. Dizier is the chief centre of manufacture and distribution. The cutlery trade is important at Nogent-en-Bassigny and in the neighbourhood of Langres. Val d'Osne is well known for its metal-work. Flour milling, glove-making (at Chaumont), basket-making and tan ning are also carried on. The principal import is coal, while manu factured goods, iron, stone, wood and cereals are exported. The line of the Eastern railway from Paris to Belfort passes through Chaumont and Langres. The canal from the Marne to the Saone and that of the Haute-Marne together cover 99 m. ; there is a canal 14 m. long from St. Dizier to Wassy. There are two arron dissements (Chaumont and Langres), with 28 cantons and 55o communes. Chaumont is the capital. The department forms the diocese of Langres; it belongs to the VII. military region and to the educational circumscription (academie) of Dijon, where also is its court of appeal. At Montier-en-Der the remains of a 7th century abbey include a church with nave and aisles of the Toth, and choir of the 13th century. Wassy, the scene of the massacre of Protestants in 1562, has a church largely of the Ro manesque period. Vignory has a church of the 1 i th century. Join ville, a metallurgical centre, preserves a château in the Renais sance style. Pailly, near Langres, has a late i6th century château.