Nature

Normandy is not a homogeneous geographical unit, rather it is an old province, formerly a dukedom, embracing two large areas with different geological structures, which become progressively younger from west to east. The sandstone, granite and Precambrian schists of the Armorican Massif in the west give way to strata of clay, limestone and chalk dating from the Triassic (beginning 254 million years ago) to the Tertiary (beginning 65 million years ago) periods, which belong to the geological formation of the Paris basin. Normandy can therefore be conveniently divided into two quite distinct regions: Haute-Normandie, which lies northwest of the Paris basin, and Basse-Normandie, which resembles its neighbour Brittany and consists of an eroded foundation of ancient rocks. The administrative region of Haute-Normandie is made up of theEure (27) and Seine-Maritime (76) départements; Basse-Normandie includes the Calvados (14), Manche (50) and Orne (61) départements.