NORD

dpartement, Nord-Pas-de-Calais rgion, northern France. It extends for 200 miles (320 km) along the Belgian frontier and borders the Strait of Dover for 20 miles (32 km). Nord is the most populous dpartement of France and one of the most productive in agriculture and industry. Created mainly from French portions of the historical provinces of Flanders and Hainaut, Nord occupies a low-lying land over which many battles, including some of those of World Wars I and II, have been fought throughout the history of Europe. From northwest to southeast it comprises a coastal plain reclaimed from the sea and including Dunkirk; the Flanders plain extending to Armentires, where the dpartement is at its narrowest; the densely populated industrial area of Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing; the coal basin around Douai, Denain, and Valenciennes through which the Schelde (Escaut) River flows; the territory around Cambrai; the valley of the Sambre River flowing through Maubeuge; and the area of Avesnes-sur-Helpe on the western approaches of the Ardennes plateau. The entire dpartement is laced with an intricate network of canalized rivers, canals, and roads, including the highway linking Lille, the departmental capital, with Paris. One of France's largest coalfields crosses the dpartement as a narrow strip running from east of Valenciennes to west of Douai. The climate is mild and humid. Cereals, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, and hops are cultivated intensively. Dairy farming and market gardening have been highly developed, and an exceptionally heavy density of livestock is maintained. The traditional textile industry of Roubaix and Tourcoing remains important in the dpartement and produces woolen, cotton, and synthetic fabrics. Besides coal mining (which has declined) and coking and distilling plants, the dpartement has several major concentrations of iron- and steelworks. The concentration around Valenciennes, in the east of the coal basin, began production in 1834; another group is located nearby at Denain. The huge complex at Dunkirk includes four furnaces that entered service between 1933 and 1973 and is modern in both conception and production methods. Other industrial activities include engineering, chemical works, food processing, glassworks, and marble cutting. Oil refineries and mineral works have been developed in the area of Dunkirk, which is one of the main French seaports and has an important shipbuilding yard. Although the fighting of World Wars I and II took its toll of the dpartement's old buildings, some fine htels de ville (city halls) and several of the dpartement's noted belfries miraculously survived, as did the elaborate but outdated fortifications of several of the old towns of French Flanders. The dpartement has six arrondissementsLille, Cambrai, Douai, Dunkirk, Valenciennes, and Avesnes-sur-Helpe. It is in the educational division of Lille. Area 2,217 square miles (5,742 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 2,532,900.