Editing Ardennes (department) (section)

== Geography ==
=== Political geography ===
The department of Ardennes is bounded by [[Aisne]] to the west, [[Marne (department)|Marne]] to the south, [[Meuse (department)|Meuse]] to the east and [[Belgium]] (Provinces of [[Namur Province|Namur]], [[Luxembourg (Belgium)|Luxembourg]] and [[Hainaut Province|Hainaut]]) to the north.

=== Human geography===
The district is crossed in its northern part by the winding [[Meuse]] valley where most people live and activities are focused. [[Charleville-Mézières]] and [[Sedan, Ardennes|Sedan]] are the main urban centres.

It is in the catchment of the Academy of Reims and the jurisdiction of the [[Court of Appeal (France)|Court of Appeal]] of Reims.

The [[INSEE|statistical]] code and Post Code prefix is 08.

=== Physical geography ===
{{See also|Ardennes}}

Ardennes is part of the [[Ardennes]], a plateau deeply cut by the Meuse and its many tributaries which reach into [[Wallonia]] in Belgium, [[Luxembourg]], Germany ([[Eifel]]), and the north of the neighbouring [[department of Meuse]].

Covering {{convert|5229|km2|0|abbr=off}}, the department was the smallest among the four contributors to [[Champagne-Ardenne]]. It is diverse in climate, topography, natural vegetation and land use, which is a mixture of forest and arable farming.

The highest point is 504&nbsp;m, on the southern slopes of the [[Croix Scaille]] shared by French commune [[Les Hautes-Rivières]] and the Belgian commune of [[Gedinne]].

It is in this part of the [[Ardennes]] mountains or high hills that the Meuse winds through, known locally as "the valley". Flowing into the northern part of the department, it waters the main cities of [[Sedan, Ardennes|Sedan]], [[Charleville-Mézières]], and [[Nouzonville]]. It has numerous tributaries &ndash; the main ones locally being the [[Semois]] and the [[Chiers]].

As to the south, the [[Aisne (river)|Aisne]] flows through the vast near-treeless plain of Champagne chalk (historically by the landed class and [[bourgeoisie]] disparaged as flea-ridden Champagne) extended to the south-west by the small, grain-growing Porcien, [[Thiérache]] in the west and [[Forest of Argonne|Argonne]] in the east are fringe grasslands with very distinctive upper soils.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Champagne crayeuse.jpg|A typical landscape of Champagne chalk in the south of the department.
File:Givet - Vue de la Meuse et du fort de Charlemont.jpg|View of the Meuse valley in the north of the department at [[Givet]].
File:ferme porcien.jpg|Farm of Porcien in the south-west of the department.
</gallery>

=== Climate ===
[[File:Rocroi neige.JPG|thumb|[[Rocroi]] in the snow &ndash; shallow to deep snow in winter is likely in this department.]]
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}
The department does not have a uniform climate throughout its territory, especially most winters.

From the north near Aisne and the border with Belgium, through the centre near the canton of Omont, to the south of the valley of the Meuse, the climate is considered "degraded continental" (heavy rainfall in autumn and frequent frosts in winter). The rest of the department has a "degraded oceanic" or "temperate continental" climate (relative to an oceanic climate, the winters are colder and the summers are hotter, rainfall in the lowlands is lower and winds are of lower strength). All this stems from location, midway between the [[English Channel]], the [[North Sea]] and parts of the continent relatively far from any sea.

Winter can be as cold as inner continental lowland Europe some winters and quite often snowier, particularly near main settlements [[Rocroi]], [[Givet]] and [[Sedan, Ardennes|Sedan]] in the north.

This climatic difference is particularly pronounced in the presence of frost especially in the valleys of the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]], [[Semois|Semoy]], the plateau of [[Rocroi]], and around the Croix-Scaille where it can be very marked and persists longer in the year with great influence on vegetation.

Across lands further west and south frontal zones (affecting air and precipitation) are tempered more by the [[English Channel]], [[Bay of Biscay]] and [[North Sea]]; nearby seeing quite flat terrain &ndash; isolated small ranges or lower regions of hills, excluding the mountains across much of the south-eastern third of France.