MARNE

dpartement, Champagne-Ardenne rgion, northeastern France, established from part of the historic province of Champagne (q.v.). It is bisected from southeast to west by the Marne River, which makes a sweeping arc of 105 miles (170 km) and passes through Chlons-sur-Marne (q.v.), its capital. In the east, the Perthois region, where the Marne enters the dpartement, is wooded and hilly. The Aisne, which flows northwest, has its source in the heights of the Argonne forest, which extends into neighbouring Meuse dpartement. In central and southwestern Marne is the slightly undulating Champagne Pouilleuse, a barren, chalky plain with an average elevation of 300 feet (90 m) that occupies about half the dpartement. The countryside is thinly populated except in the Marne and other valleys. Pine forests have been planted in the poor soil, which in some areas has been enriched with humus for farming. A military camp and artillery range is above Chlons-sur-Marne. In the western sector, in the area of pernay, the Marne enters high country covered with forests and the vineyards from which champagne is produced. The cathedral city of Reims, the largest town, is watered by the Vesle River, a tributary of the Aisne, and is linked with Chlons-sur-Marne by canal. The climate is fairly temperate, and there is abundant precipitation in areas of higher elevation. The champagne industry is of great importance around pernay and Reims, but at Reims itself engineering, food-processing, glass, textile, and electronic industries have been developed. The statesman Jean-Baptiste Colbert (161983) was born in Reims, and Dom Pierre Prignon (16381715), who discovered how to make champagne sparkle, was born in Sainte-Menehould. Several of the towns were severely damaged in the two world wars. The dpartement has five arrondissements: Chlons-sur-Marne, Reims, pernay, Sainte-Menehould, and Vitry-le-Franois. Area 3,151 square miles (8,162 square km). Pop. (1990) 558,272; (1994 est.) 566,222.