France Geography

France is the largest country in Western Europe by land area, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Alps and Pyrenees forming natural mountain borders with Italy/Switzerland and Spain.

The country's interior is dominated by fertile lowlands and river basins -- the Loire, Seine, Rhône, and Garonne each carve distinct agricultural regions, historically the basis of France's wine and farming country, from Burgundy and the Loire Valley's chateaux to Bordeaux's vineyards.

The Massif Central, a volcanic highland in the country's south-center, and the French Alps in the east (home to Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest peak) add significant mountain terrain, while the island of Corsica adds a distinct, maquis-covered landscape of its own.