MAYENNE

dpartement, Pays de la Loire region, northwestern France, south of Normandie and east of Bretagne (Brittany). Its area of 1,997 sq mi (5,171 sq km) comprises the western part of the historic province of Maine (q.v.) and a strip of northwestern Anjou. The dpartement is watered by the Mayenne River, which flows into the Loire via the Maine. The Mayenne, bisecting the dpartement northsouth and navigable for 55 mi, passes through Mayenne, an ancient town; Laval (q.v.), the capital; and Chteau-Gontier, a picturesque town founded in the 9th century. The dpartement was ravaged by insurrections after the French Revolution, and the town of Mayenne was captured in 1793. Mayenne is predominantly wooded and hilly, its climate chiefly oceanic. The Haut-Maine range, which reaches 1,368 ft (417 m) in the extreme northeast at Mont des Avaloirs, slopes southwestward. The hills in the south are little more than 300 ft high. During the 19th and 20th centuries, many wooded areas were cleared for agriculture, predominantly for grazing and apple growing. The cattle market at Chteau-Gontier is one of the most important in France, but the once thriving linen industry practically disappeared in the mid-19th century. Some cotton looms and a few foundries remain, as well as printing works and food-processing plants. Picturesque sites include the fortified town of Sainte-Suzanne on a rocky promontory dominating the Erve River in the southeast. The dpartement has three arrondissementsLaval, Chteau-Gontier, and Mayenne. It is in the educational division of Rennes. Pop. (1982) 271,784.