Editing Ardennes (department) (section)

=== 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>