Seine (region)

Seine (region), formerly a department in north central France made up of the city of Paris and its suburbs. Its territory of 479 sq km (185 sq mi), together with additional territory from neighboring departments, was reorganized under a 1964 law into three new departments: Seine-Saint Denis, Hauts-de-Seine, and Val-de-Marne. A new administrative unit was also formed that comprised the city of Paris proper.

Physiographically, the region is part of the Seine Valley. The navigable waterways are the Seine and the canalized Marne rivers and the Ourcq, Saint Martin, Saint Denis, Saint Maur, and Saint Maurice canals. Paris (the largest river port in France) is located on the Seine, which flows into the English Channel near Le Havre.

The Seine region was formed from the province of Île-de-France. The region is largely industrial, with market gardening and horticulture the only agricultural occupations.

At the town of Saint-Denis, 8 km (5 mi) from Paris, is an abbey founded in ad 775. The foundations of the crypt of the original building remain; the rest of the building dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. The largest of the other towns of the region are Colombes, Neuilly, Levallois-Perret, Courbevoie, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Montreuil-sous-Bois, Saint-Ouen, Aubervilliers, and Asnières.