Belgium - L'Ardenne

Greetings From L'Ardenne.


Sent by Richard, a postcrosser from L'Ardenne, Belgium.


This is from Wikipedia : The Ardennes (Dutch: Ardennen) is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian (Devonian) Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes department and the Champagne-Ardenne région), and geologically into the Eifel. In Wallonia, the word 'Ardenne' in the singular is commonly used for the Belgian part of the region and in the plural for the French one. Ardenne is the origin ofthe great industrial period of Wallonia, the second of the world (18th, 19th and 20th centuries). In France, the word 'Ardennes' in the plural, together with the definite article, is commonly used to refer to the French department of that name.

Much of the Ardennes is covered in dense forests, with the mountains averaging around 350–700 m (1,148–1,640 ft) in height but rising to over 694 m (2276.9028;ft) in the boggy moors of the Hautes Fagnes (Hohes Venn) region of south-eastern Belgium. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers, the most prominent of which is the Meuse. Its most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne.

The Eifel range in Germany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the same geological formation, although they are conventionally regarded as being two distinct areas.