Introduction
This is Project 1: Evaluation 31: World Cultures 1: North and South America and Europe (STH 053 056), written by Bo Erik Hollsten, Student ID: J92671519.
Paris, France
Paris is the capital and largest city in France. Paris is situated along the Seine river, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (Paris Region). The city is divided into 20 arrondissements municipaux (administrative districts) - locals only say "arrondissement" or they just refer to the number of the arrondissement that you're talking about.
One cool thing about the arrondissements is that the last two digits of the postal code (75001 to 75020) refer to the number of the arrondissement.
The 20 arrondissements are in the shape of a clockwise spiral. This spiral starts in the middle of the city. The 1st arrondissement is on the Right Bank (north bank) of the Seine. In the picture below, you can see that arrondissements 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 are in the Right Bank (top part of the Seine river), and arrondissements 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15 are in the Left Bank. Île de le Cité and Île Sant-Louis are in the 4e (4th) and in the 1er (1st) arrondissements.
One cool thing about the arrondissements is that the last two digits of the postal code (75001 to 75020) refer to the number of the arrondissement.
The 20 arrondissements are in the shape of a clockwise spiral. This spiral starts in the middle of the city. The 1st arrondissement is on the Right Bank (north bank) of the Seine. In the picture below, you can see that arrondissements 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 are in the Right Bank (top part of the Seine river), and arrondissements 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15 are in the Left Bank. Île de le Cité and Île Sant-Louis are in the 4e (4th) and in the 1er (1st) arrondissements.
Arrondissements
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Paris was the largest city in the world.
The total Land area for Paris is 105.4 km2 (40.7 square miles).
The absolute location for Paris is: 48° 51' 24" N, 2° 21' 03" E. Paris, the capital of France, is bordered by Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland, and by the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
I have been to each one of these countries except Andorra. I have also traveled from France to Britain on the Eurotunnel between Calais (on the French side) and Dover (on the UK side).
The total Land area for Paris is 105.4 km2 (40.7 square miles).
The absolute location for Paris is: 48° 51' 24" N, 2° 21' 03" E. Paris, the capital of France, is bordered by Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland, and by the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
I have been to each one of these countries except Andorra. I have also traveled from France to Britain on the Eurotunnel between Calais (on the French side) and Dover (on the UK side).
Physical Geography of Paris, France
As you can see from the map on the left, France is the largest country in Western Europe. When you're driving through France, as I have done with my family and our dog, Fia, many times, you get to learn the terrain. Plains and rolling hills go on for what seems like forever (especially if you're in the back seat of the car and your iPod batteries die). These landforms cover about 2/5ths of France. They go in the shape of an arc from the border of Belgian to the Pyrenees mountains (I have made the entire drive - more than once) and break up into two separate regions - the Paris Basin and the Aquitaine Basin. The elevations are usually less than 700 feet (210 m).
Paris is the Paris Basin, a low lying continental shelf region that used to get submerged by ocean waters. This leaves marine sedimentary deposits behind when the water dries up such as limestone. It makes sense that a lot of the buildings in the city are made out of limestone. They also excavated limestone from an underground quarry in the Paris catacombs, but I haven't wanted to go down there because it is kind of creepy to be stuck underground with a bunch of skulls and bones. Fortunately, we have never seen Paris under the water. When Paris is above-sea level, like it is today, rivers drain water and cut channels into the earth. The rivers change the topography of Paris. The Seine river cuts right through Paris and in order to cross from one side of the bank to the other, you have to cross over the bridges cross or on one of the tourist ferries.
Paris is the Paris Basin, a low lying continental shelf region that used to get submerged by ocean waters. This leaves marine sedimentary deposits behind when the water dries up such as limestone. It makes sense that a lot of the buildings in the city are made out of limestone. They also excavated limestone from an underground quarry in the Paris catacombs, but I haven't wanted to go down there because it is kind of creepy to be stuck underground with a bunch of skulls and bones. Fortunately, we have never seen Paris under the water. When Paris is above-sea level, like it is today, rivers drain water and cut channels into the earth. The rivers change the topography of Paris. The Seine river cuts right through Paris and in order to cross from one side of the bank to the other, you have to cross over the bridges cross or on one of the tourist ferries.
Paris from Above
In this picture, I'm at the top of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It is in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle at the west end of the Champs-Élysées. My sister and I used to drive to school down the Champs-Élysées to the Neuilly-sur-Seine or we took the Metro (Line 1) to avoid the traffic.
From up here on the Arc, you can actually see that Paris has grown into the valley. The "hills" in Paris were formed by the Seine river, but now the river is channeled to keep it from causing damage.
From up here on the Arc, you can actually see that Paris has grown into the valley. The "hills" in Paris were formed by the Seine river, but now the river is channeled to keep it from causing damage.
The Climate of Paris
If you're hanging out in the Metro (picture on the left), the climate of Paris is very stuffy. If you're walking in the city, it is a temperate climate because the Gulf Stream warms up the air in Western Europe. Even though Paris has pretty much the same latitude as Vancouver, Canada, Paris has mild winters and nice summers. July is the hottest month of the year, and believe me, it can get really humid. You can leave your apartment to walk to the store or BHV, and return all sweaty.
The coldest month in Paris is January, and if you're walking the dog, it feels ten times colder! The average temperatures are between 5°C (41°F) during winter and 20°C (68°F) during the summer. If you're right in Paris (where we live), it is actually warmer than it is in the suburbs. It is because there are more people. The hottest day in Paris happened on the 28th of July 1948 when the temperature got to 104.7°F! There was also a really bad heatwave in August 2003 where the temperature was over 95°F for 9 days in a row! That's really hot in Paris with all the people and cement.
Also, dry season is from March to May. The rest of the year it rains about the same amount of times in each month, but the rains go away pretty quickly. It can be raining on one block and if you keep walking, all of a sudden, it's not raining anymore. Most people carry umbrellas because you never know when it's going to rain.
The worst is when it is raining and the wind is blowing. Between the months of November and January, winds can blow between 13-14mps, which is not very nice when you're walking to the Metro.
The coldest month in Paris is January, and if you're walking the dog, it feels ten times colder! The average temperatures are between 5°C (41°F) during winter and 20°C (68°F) during the summer. If you're right in Paris (where we live), it is actually warmer than it is in the suburbs. It is because there are more people. The hottest day in Paris happened on the 28th of July 1948 when the temperature got to 104.7°F! There was also a really bad heatwave in August 2003 where the temperature was over 95°F for 9 days in a row! That's really hot in Paris with all the people and cement.
Also, dry season is from March to May. The rest of the year it rains about the same amount of times in each month, but the rains go away pretty quickly. It can be raining on one block and if you keep walking, all of a sudden, it's not raining anymore. Most people carry umbrellas because you never know when it's going to rain.
The worst is when it is raining and the wind is blowing. Between the months of November and January, winds can blow between 13-14mps, which is not very nice when you're walking to the Metro.