ORNE

dpartement, Basse-Normandie rgion, northwestern France. It was created from parts of the historical province of Normandy (q.v.), the county of Perche, and the duchy of Alenon. It is separated from the English Channel by the dpartements of Manche on the west and Calvados on the north. Hilly in most parts, especially in the southwest and east, Orne is the watershed between rivers flowing to the Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the land lies above 600 feet (180 m). The highest point in Orne and in all of Normandy is 1,368 feet (417 m) in the Forest d'couves. Southeast of the forest is the ancient market town of Alenon, Orne's capital, which is situated on the Sarthe River on the dpartement's southern boundary. The Sarthe, which springs from headwaters north of Mortagne-au-Perche (one of the most picturesque small towns in France), flows southwestward and is one of 20 rivers and 800 streams rising in the dpartement. The Orne River rises near the ancient cathedral city of Ses and flows northwestward through the market town of Argentan, which was seriously damaged in 1944 during the Battle of Normandy. Predominantly agricultural, Orne has a temperate climate with moderate rainfall. Most of the farming land is used for horse and cattle breeding. Butter and cheese, particularly Camembert (the name of a village in the north), are among the chief products. The apple trees that were the source of a well-known local cider have been widely removed to facilitate more extensive, larger-scale forms of agriculture (beef cattle and grains), and the cider industry was reduced as a result. A stud farm founded under Louis XIV is situated near Argentan. Textiles are still manufactured, and some light industries have been developed. Alenon, Argentan, and Mortagne-au-Perche are the administrative centres of the three arrondissements of the dpartement, which is in the educational division of Caen. Area 2,356 square miles (6,103 square km). Pop. (1990) 293,336; (1993 est.) 294,100.