The following table shows the condition of the population from the beginning of the century to the date of the latest census:, 1Ze+d by Microsotri U The decline of population between the census of May, 1866, and of May, 1872, is 1,964,273, of which 1,597,228 is due to the loss of the different territories annexed to the German empire. The remainder is due partly to losses in the war, and partly to an absolute decrease in the population of 73 departments. Between 1872 and 1876, there was a decrease in 20 departments, most of all in Seine-et-Oise.
Coast, Islands, and Frontier.—The n.n.w. coast is generally irregular, indented with numerous bays, the principal of which is the bay of St. Malo, the archipelago of Beast, etc. The w.s.w. coast is more lofty and precipitous, and is interspersed with isolated rocks and promontories; while s. of the Loire it is low, and lined with salt marshes to the foot of the Pyrenees, where it again assumes a rocky character. Here lie the islands of Ushant (Ouessant), Belleisle, Noirmoutier, Isle d'Ycu, Re, Oleron, etc. The coast of the Mediterranean, which is broken by lagoons or shore-lakes, is low till it has passed Toulon, after which it becomes bolder. The only islands off the shore are the Hyeres, near Toulon; the larger island of Corsica (q.v.) lies n. of Sardinia. The Mediterranean here forms two bays or gulfs, as the gulf of Lyons and the gulf of Genoa, which belongs only in part to France. The land frontiers of F. are formed on the side of Spain by the Pyrenees; on that of Italy and Switzerland, by the Alps and Jura chain; on the n.e., the frontier line is unprotected by natural boundaries, and since the loss of Alsace and Lorraine is no longer defended, as before the war of 1870-71, by strong fortresses.
Plains, Mountains, and Rivers.—The chief plains are those of Burgundy, and of the oceanic district, embracing the lower basins of the Seine, Loire, and Garonne. F. has four great mountain chains—the Pyrenees (q.v.), which separate the French terri tory from Spain; the Cevenno-Vosgian range, formed of the Cevennes (q.v.), running e. and w. between the Rhone and Loire, and the Vosges, running n. and s. between the Moselle and the new boundary line; the Alps (q.v.), which separate the Swiss territory from the provinces of Savoy and Nice; and the Sardo-Corsican range, which belongs, as the name implies, to the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. The highest peaks in the
Pyrenees are the Maladetta and mont Perdu (10,886 ft. and 10,994 ft.); in the Cevenno range, the greatest height (the Widderkalm) does not greatly exceed 7,000 feet. The French portion of the Alps now includes several of the highest mountains and most elevated passes of the range, as mont Blanc, 15,744 ft.; moat Iseran, 13,272 ft.; mont Cenis, 11,457 ft.; and the pass of Little St. Bernard, 7,190 ft., etc. In Corsica, the highest peak rises to an elevation of 9,000 feet. The grand water-shed of F. is the Cevenno-Vosges chain, which determines the direction of the four great rivers, the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, and the Rhone; the first three of which flow n.w. into the bay of Biscay or the English channel, and the fourth into the gulf of Lyons. Besides these, the more important streams are the Moselle, Meuse, and Scheldt or Escaut (all of which soon leave France, and flow into the Netherlands, or Germany); the Somme and Orne (belonging to the basin of the Seine); the Vilaine and the Charente (belonging to the basin of the Loire); the Oise, the Aube, the Yonne, and the Marne, which are the chief affluents of the Seine; the Sarthe, the Loiret, the Allier, and the. Maine, of the Loire; the Dordogne, the Lot, the Tarn, and the Adour, of the Garonne; and the Saone, the Isere, and the Durance, of the Rhone.
The entire extent of river navigation in F. amounts to 5,500 miles, or 8,900,000. metres, while the 99 larger canals, which have been constructed either to connect these river courses or to supply entirely new channels of water-communication, extend over a length of 2,900 miles, or 4,700,000 metres. The most important of these works are the canals connecting Nantes, and Brest, and the Rhone with the Rhine, and those of Berry, Nivernais, and Bourgogne. F. possesses only one lake of any importance, Le Grand-Lieu, a little to the s. of which has an area of about 14,300 acres; but the country abounds in salt marshes or ponds, more especially in the districts of Gas cony, Roussillon, and Languedoc.
P. is peculiarly rich in mineral springs, of which there are said to be nearly 1000 in use. Of these, more than 400 are situated in the group of the Pyrenees, where there are 93 establishments for their systematic, use. It is estimated that there are, moreover,, fully 4,000 springs not hitherto employed.