PARIS, Fr. pron. The metropolis of and the capital of the Department of Seine, situated on the River Seine, 110 miles in a direct line from its mouth, latitude 48° 50' N., longitude 2° 20' E. With its suburbs, comprised in the arrondissements of Saint-Denis and Sceanx, Paris forms the Department of Seine (q.v.). The city lies iu a hollow, about 200 feet above the level of the sea. and is surrounded by low hills, which to the north, at Belleville and _Montmartre, reach a maximum altitude respectively of 330 feet and 420 feet. These hills, separated by narrow valleys or plateaus, as those of :Saint-Denis to the north, Ivry to the southeast, to the south. and Grown(' to the southwest. are encircled at a distance of from two to five miles by an outer range of heights, mostly fortified, include Mont Valerwn, 450 feet above the Seine, the highest point in the immediate vicin ity of the city. Villejuif, Meudon. and Saint Cloud. The hollow is a small level plain of Tertiary formation, known as the Paris Basin, composed at varying depths of different strata of ;:r3.psuni and marls abounding in fossil re mains, siliceous limestones. and a vast chalk bed. The strata provide in part the city's building material, stone. gravel, etc, The climate is fair ly uniform and mild. pleasant and healthful. the mean annual temperature being 51° F., the mean January temperature 30°. July 60°. The river seldom freezes. Rain falls on an average during 143 days in a year. the average quantity during that period being 19.68 inches.
Paris is encircled by a wall 21 miles long, forti fied by 94 bastions, pierced by 57 gates, and having a glacis and moat 48 feet wide. In addi tion there are.17 detached forts within a distance of two miles. and 19 outlying fortresses encircling an area of 400 square miles. The modern en ceinte was constructed by Louis Philippe in 1841 4.4, but the outlying fortresses were added after
the war of 1870. The city is now practically impregnable. Steam and electric railroads give access to the numerous suburbs famous alike for their picturesque situations and historical asso ciations. These include the more immediate sub urbs of Boulogne, with the famous Bois de Bou logne (bordering Paris on the west), adjoining which is the race-course of Longehamps, Neu i lly, Levallois-Perret, Cliehy-la-Ga Suresnes, Puteaux, Courbevoie, .Asnieres. Auber villiers, Bobibny, Pant in, Pre-Saint-Gervais, Vincennes, with its wood, fort. chateau, and race course, Charenton, lvry, Gentilly, .Areueil, Ba gneux, Chatillon, Montrouge, Vanves, lssy, Mem don, and the more distant Versailles. with its palace, gardens, fountains, art collections, and the Grand and Petit Trianon; Rambouillet, with its castle, parks, and gardens: Saint-Cloud. with its palace and park: Saint-Germain-en-Laye. with its two castles; Sevres, famous for its porce lain factories; Saint-Denis, with its abbey cathe dral, where the kings of France are buried; En ghien, noted for its sulphur springs, on a wooded lake near the forest of :Montmorency; Argenteuil, a boating resort ; Neriel, which derives its celebrity from the neighboring Abbaye du Val, a twelfth-century monastic edifice of great arche ological interest; Dampierre, with the splendid ducal chateau of the Luynes family; Fon tainebleau, with its palace, fine art collections. and its extensive forest with Barbisom the resort of artists on the western border; Malmaison, with the former chateau residence of the Empress Josephine: and .Marly-le-Roi, with its forest and aqueduct.