BAS-RHIN

dpartement, Alsace rgion, on the northeastern frontier of France. It extends along the left (west) bank of the Rhine River, which separates it from Germany. Formed from the northern half of Alsace, the area became part of France in the 17th century, but as a part of Alsace-Lorraine it was lost to Germany in 18711919 and 194045. It includes the northern part of the plain of Alsace in the east and flanking highlands to the west. The Vosges Mountains rise in the southwest corner to 3,609 feet (1,100 m). The eastern plain has a mild, sheltered climate. Where covered with loess, the terraces are exceptionally fertile and highly cultivated for corn (maize), sugar beets, fodder, and hops. Elsewhere on the plain are nonarable wooded tracts, the largest being Haguenau Forest. At the foot of the highlands to the west is a rich zone of small towns and villages surrounded by orchards and celebrated vineyards. Strasbourg, its old town originally sited on the Ill River just above the latter's confluence with the Rhine, is the principal city in the dpartement. It is a terminal point for the Rhine-Rhne and Rhine-Marne canals. Strasbourg, a university and cathedral city, is the dpartement's capital and also centre for an arrondissement; the dpartement's other arrondissements include Strasbourg-Campagne, Haguenau, Molsheim, Saverne, Slestat-Erstein, and Wissembourg. Area 1,836 square miles (4,755 square km). Pop. (1990) 953,219; (1994 est.) 990,724.