Editing Angoulême (section)

==Geography==
Angoulême is an [[Acropolis]] city located on a hill overlooking a loop of the [[Charente (river)|Charente]] limited in area upstream by the confluence of the [[Touvre]] and downstream by the Anguienne and [[Eaux Claires]].

===Location and access===
Angoulême is located at the intersection of a major north–south axis: the [[N10 road (France)|N10]] Paris-Bayonne; and the east–west axis: the [[N141 road (France)|N14]] ''route Central-Europe Atlantique'' Limoges-Saintes. Angoulême is also connected to [[Périgueux]] and [[Saint-Jean-d'Angely]] by the D939 and to [[Libourne]] by the D674.

{{Geographic location
|width=auto
|Centre    = Angoulême 
|North     = [[Paris]] 435&nbsp;km<br />[[Poitiers]] 110&nbsp;km<br />[[Niort]] 110&nbsp;km
|Northeast = [[Montluçon]] 236&nbsp;km<br />[[Guéret]] 170&nbsp;km<br />[[Confolens]] 50&nbsp;km
|East      = [[Limoges]] 100&nbsp;km
|Southeast = [[Périgueux]] 80&nbsp;km
|South     = [[Libourne]] 90&nbsp;km<br />[[Bergerac, Dordogne|Bergerac]] 110&nbsp;km
|Southwest = [[Bordeaux]] 110&nbsp;km
|West      = [[Cognac (Charente)|Cognac]] 40&nbsp;km<br />[[Saintes, Charente-Maritime|Saintes]] 70&nbsp;km<br />[[Royan]] 100&nbsp;km
|Northwest = [[La Rochelle]] 120&nbsp;km
}}

*By train: the [[Paris–Bordeaux railway|Paris-Bordeaux line]], served mainly by [[TGV]], passes through Angoulême and the [[TER]] Limoges-Saintes provides connections.
*By water: although the river Charente is currently only used for tourism, it was a communication channel, especially for freight, until the 19th century and the port of l'Houmeau was very busy.

The [[Angoulême – Brie – Champniers Airport|Angoulême-Cognac International Airport]] is at Brie-Champniers.

===Districts===
[[File:Angouleme 1914.jpg|thumb|right|Map of Angoulême in 1914.]]

'''Old Angoulême''' is the old part between the ramparts and the town centre with winding streets and small squares. The '''city centre''' is also located on the plateau and was portrayed by [[Honoré de Balzac]] in "The Lost Illusions" as "the height of grandeur and power". There is a Castle, a town hall, a prefecture, and a cathedral with grand houses everywhere. Unlike Old Angoulême, however, the entire city centre was greatly rebuilt in the 19th century.

Surrounding the city were five old [[faubourgs]]: [[L'Houmeau (Angoulême)|l'Houmeau]], Saint-Cybard, Saint-Martin, Saint-Ausone, and la Bussatte. The district of '''l'Houmeau''' was described by Balzac as "based on trade and money" because this district lived on trade, boatmen, and their [[scow]]s. The port of l'Houmeau was created in 1280 on the river bank. It marked the beginning of the navigable part from Angoulême to the sea. '''Saint-Cybard''', on the bank of the Charente, was created around the [[Abbey of Saint-Cybard]] then became an industrial area with [[papermill]]s, especially ''Le Nil''. '''Saint-Martin - Saint-Ausone''' is a district composed of two former parishes outside the ramparts. At '''La Bussatte''' the Champ de Mars esplanade is now converted into a shopping mall, and adjoins '''Saint-Gelais'''.

Today the city has fifteen districts:
* '''Centre-ville'''
* '''Old Angoulême'''
* '''Saint-Ausone - Saint-Martin'''
* '''Saint-Gelais'''
* '''La Bussatte - Champ de Mars'''
* '''L'Houmeau'''
* '''Saint-Cybard'''
* '''Victor-Hugo, Saint-Roch''' is notable for its military presence.
* '''Basseau''' is a district which was created in the 19th century with the port of Basseau, the explosives factory in 1821, the Laroche-Joubert papermill in 1842, then the bridge in 1850.
* '''Sillac - La Grande-Garenne''' was a private housing estate then was built up with [[HLM]] units.
* '''Bel-Air, la Grand Font''' in the railway station district with housing blocks from the 1950s at Grand Font.
* '''La Madeleine''' which was completely rebuilt after the bombings of 1944.
* '''Ma Campagne''' is a district which was detached from [[Puymoyen]] commune in 1945<ref name="privat">Pierre Dubourg-Noves (dir.), ''History of Angoulême and its surroundings'', Toulouse, Éditions Privat, coll. "Univers de la France et des pays francophones", 1990, 319 p. ({{ISBN|2-7089-8246-X}}, notice BnF no FRBNF350724243), p. 295-296 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> and built-up as a collective habitat from 1972.
* Le '''Petit Fresquet''' was also detached from Puymoyen and is semi-rural.
* '''Frégeneuil''' was also detached from Puymoyen and is semi-rural.

===Panorama of the city===
<div style="overflow:auto;">
[[File:Angoulême 16 Le plateau vu de Saint-Martin 2014.jpg|thumb|center|upright=5|Panorama of Angoulême from Saint-Martin (South).<br />The church of Saint-Ausone, the cathedral of Saint-Pierre, and the city hall can all be seen.]]
</div>

===Neighbouring communes and villages===
{{Geographic location
|width=auto
|Centre    = Angoulême 
|North     = [[Gond-Pontouvre]]
|Northeast = [[L'Isle-d'Espagnac]]
|East      = [[Soyaux]]
|Southeast = [[Puymoyen]]
|South     = [[Vœuil-et-Giget]]
|Southwest = [[Saint-Michel, Charente|Saint-Michel]]
|West      = [[Fleac]]
|Northwest = [[Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente]]
}}
<ref name=Google>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Angoul%C3%AAme,+France/@45.645821,0.1450394,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x47fe2d85032bc499:0x405d39260eec0f0 Google Maps]</ref>

===Hydrography===
The ''Port-l'Houmeau'', the old port on the Charente located in the district of l'Houmeau is in a flood zone and during floods the Besson Bey Boulevard is usually cut.

===Geology===
[[File:Topographie de angouleme.jpg|thumb|Topography of Angoulême city]]

Geologically the town belongs to the [[Aquitaine Basin]] as does three-quarters of the western department of [[Charente]].

The commune is located on the same [[limestone]] from the [[Upper Cretaceous]] period which occupies the southern half of the department of Charente, not far from [[Jurassic]] formations beginning at [[Gond-Pontouvre]].

The earliest Cretaceous period - the [[Cenomanian]]- is in the relatively low areas (l'Houmeau, the heights of Saint-Cybard, Sillac), at an average altitude of 50m.

The city was established on the [[Plateau]] (altitude 100m) that dominates the loop of the River Charente, a [[Turonian]] (also called ''Angoumien'') formation which forms a dissected plateau of parallel valleys and a [[cuesta]] facing north that extends towards [[La Couronne, Charente|La Couronne]] to the west and [[Garat, Charente|Garat]] to the east.

This limestone plateau contains natural cavities which have been refurbished by man in the form of three or four floors of caves, some of which include antique grain silos.

The valley of the Charente is made up of old and new alluvium which provides rich soil for farming and some sandpits. These alluvial deposits were deposited successively during the [[Quaternary]] period on the inside of two meanders of the river that are Basseau and Saint-Cybard. The oldest alluviums are on the plain of Basseau and reach a relative height of 25m.<ref>BRGM geological map on Géoportail {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>[http://infoterre.brgm.fr/viewer/MainTileForward.do# INfoterre Visualiser] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423154453/http://infoterre.brgm.fr/viewer/MainTileForward.do |date=23 April 2017 }}, BRGM website {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>[http://ficheinfoterre.brgm.fr/Notices/0709N.pdf Paper Notice for Angoulême], BRGM, 1973, Infoterre website, consulted on 17 November 2011 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Relief===
The old part of the city is built on the plateau - a rocky outcrop created by the valleys of the Anguienne and Charente at an altitude of {{convert|102|m|ft|abbr=off}} - while on the river bank the area subject to flooding is {{convert|27|m|ft|abbr=off}} high. Angoulême is characterized by the presence of ramparts on a cliff {{convert|80|m|ft|abbr=off}} high.

The plateau of ''Ma Campagne'', south of the old town, has almost the same features and peaks at 109 m in the woods of Saint-Martin. The plateau is elongated and separates the valleys of Eaux Claires, which is the southern boundary of the commune, from that of Anguienne, which is parallel.

Both plateaux overlook the Charente valley and the outlying areas such as l'Houmeau, Basseau, and Sillac at their western ends. The plateau of Angoulême is the northwest extension of the Soyaux plateau. L'Houmeau, the station area, and that of Grand-Font are to the north of the plateau along the small Vimière valley, also a tributary of the Charente, but further north (towards Gond-Pontouvre and [[L'Isle-d'Espagnac]]) than Anguienne is to the south.

The highest point of the city of Angoulême is at an altitude of 133m near Peusec located to the south-east near the border with Puymoyen. The lowest point is 27 m, located along the Charente at Basseau.<ref name="ign">IGN Map on [[Géoportail]] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===The ramparts===
Since Roman times ramparts have surrounded the Plateau of Angoulême. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, their reconstruction was finally stopped in the 19th century. The '''Ramparts''' are classified as historical monuments{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref name="Ramparts">Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00104228|PA00104228 Ramparts}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> and the ''Ramparts Tour'' is one of the main attractions of the city.

;The Ramparts of Angoulême
<gallery>
File:Angoulême1.4.JPG|North Rampart
File:Ang remp1.JPG|Near the covered market
File:Ang remp4.JPG|The Léchelle Tower
File:Angouleme20050314Blorg.JPG|The Rampart du midi
</gallery>

===Climate===
Angoulême is under an [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] influence and similar to that of the city of Cognac where the departmental weather station is located. Precipitations are modest all year long, with a slight drying tendency during summer.

{{Meteo France
|Town=Angoulême<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140903184707/http://www.lameteo.org/index.php/climatologie/1598-normales-climatiques-1981-2010-cognac Data from the Station at Cognac] from 1981 to 2010 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
|Sunshine=2,027
|Rain=763
|Snow=3
|Storm=23
|Fog=54
}}

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  Angoulême ([[Angoulême–Cognac International Airport]])  (2009–2020 normals, extremes 2009–present)
|Jan record high C = 18.2
|Feb record high C = 24.1
|Mar record high C = 26.1
|Apr record high C = 29.2
|May record high C = 32.0
|Jun record high C = 38.8
|Jul record high C = 39.8
|Aug record high C = 39.6
|Sep record high C = 37.3
|Oct record high C = 32.2
|Nov record high C = 24.2
|Dec record high C = 18.1
|Jan record low C = -7.8
|Feb record low C = -12.8
|Mar record low C = -4.9
|Apr record low C = -3.2
|May record low C = 0.6
|Jun record low C = 5.4
|Jul record low C = 8.7
|Aug record low C = 8.4
|Sep record low C = 3.9
|Oct record low C = -2.0
|Nov record low C = -4.6
|Dec record low C = -10.7
|Jan high C = 8.7
|Feb high C = 10.2
|Mar high C = 14.3
|Apr high C = 17.9
|May high C = 20.6
|Jun high C = 24.2
|Jul high C = 27.2
|Aug high C = 27.2
|Sep high C = 24.0
|Oct high C = 18.8
|Nov high C = 13.4
|Dec high C = 10.2
| year high C = 18.1
|Jan mean C = 5.9
|Feb mean C = 6.3
|Mar mean C = 9.6
|Apr mean C = 12.5
|May mean C = 15.3
|Jun mean C = 18.8
|Jul mean C = 21.2
|Aug mean C = 21.0
|Sep mean C = 18.3
|Oct mean C = 14.4
|Nov mean C = 10.1
|Dec mean C = 7.1
| year mean C = 13.4
|Jan low C = 3.0
|Feb low C = 2.5
|Mar low C = 4.9
|Apr low C = 7.2
|May low C = 10.0
|Jun low C = 13.4
|Jul low C = 15.3
|Aug low C = 14.9
|Sep low C = 12.6
|Oct low C = 10.0
|Nov low C = 6.9
|Dec low C = 4.0
| year low C = 8.7
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 89.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 66.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 58.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 60.1
|May precipitation mm = 71.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 71.4
|Jul precipitation mm = 36.7
|Aug precipitation mm = 44.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 51.6
|Oct precipitation mm = 69.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 93.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 101.4
|year precipitation mm = 814.8
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 14.1
| Feb precipitation days = 11.3
| Mar precipitation days = 10.8
| Apr precipitation days = 8.7
| May precipitation days = 10.2
| Jun precipitation days = 9.2
| Jul precipitation days = 5.8
| Aug precipitation days = 6.3
| Sep precipitation days = 7.3
| Oct precipitation days = 9.7
| Nov precipitation days = 13.1
| Dec precipitation days = 13.0
| year precipitation days =119.4
|source 1 = Meteociel<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=16078001
|title=Normales et records pour Angoulême - Brie Champniers (16) 
|publisher=Meteociel
|access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>}}