The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km²)

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

and the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

(historically divided among the Provinces of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and Picardy since 911, now divided among the administrative regions of

and Picardy). The landscape is of

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...

, a land use which arises from its

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

soil, and is suited to the development of

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

for the raising of dairy cattle. It produces famous

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

s and cheeses such as Neufchâtel.info site on the Pays de Bray.

Etymology

Etymologically, the name of ''Bray'' comes from the

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

word ''braco'', which became the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

''bray'', meaning "marsh", "swamp", or "mud". The area appears to be so named as the soil distinguishes it from the neighbouring

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French ''département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs o ...

; the sticky clay is quite different from the dry, firm chalk of the Pays de Caux.

Geology

Viewed

geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

, the Pays de Bray is a relatively small eroded

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...

along the Bray fault, breaking through rocks on the fringe of the

Parisian Basin The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in the cr ...

, which forms the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

s around it. It is a smaller version of the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Sussex, but reveals the beds more deeply; down to the Upper

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

clay. To the north is the Upper

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

plateau of Picardy with the

to the west and the

Vexin Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...

to the south-east. The erosion has exposed clay beds in an elliptically-shaped region which is called the ''buttonhole'' of the Pays de Bray. A "boutonnière" (buttonhole), in French geological language, is an eroded anticline. This is why the Pays de Bray's outline is shaped as a buttonhole, marked as it is with surrounding

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

s of 60 to 100 metres in height, making it a distinct physical and cultural entity. The Pays de Bray is rich in springs and several watercourses rise there; notably the

Epte The Epte () is a river in Seine-Maritime and Eure, in Normandy, France. It is a right tributary of the Seine, long. The river rises in Seine-Maritime in the Pays de Bray, near Forges-les-Eaux. The river empties into the Seine not far from Give ...

and the Andelle, tributaries of the Seine. The

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

and the

Eaulne The river Eaulne is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of the eastern Pays de Caux in the Seine-Maritime ''département'' of Normandy in northern France. It is long. The Eaulne's source is at Mortemer. It then flows northwestwards th ...

flow into the Arques which enters the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

. Among the most notable springs are those of

Forges-les-Eaux Forges-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Le Fossé was merged into Forges-les-Eaux. Geography A farming and spa town, with considerable ...

("Forges-the-Waters") which gave it and its surroundings the renown of a spa. As a result of its clay-rich soil, the traditional building style of the Pays de Bray is of cob (sometimes changed to brick since the 19th) and tile throughout, showing

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...

structures.

The cross-Channel geological structure

The Bray Fault is part of the Lizard front which is represented also in

The Lizard The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

and Start Point, Devon. It is also part of the anticline which lies to the south of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The chalk of that island's central ridge is cognate with that of the Pays de Bray's northern escarpment. The syncline to the north of the Isle of Wight underlies the

Hampshire Basin The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Palaeogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex. Like the London Basin to the northeast, it is filled with sands and clays of Paleocene and y ...

and rises in the next anticline to form Salisbury Plain and the Wealden ridge of which the territory of

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

, the Boulonnais is the equivalent feature in

. The syncline of south Hampshire is represented by the bay and département of Somme. Fundamentally, the Bray fault dates from the late Carboniferous and Early Permian but the effect in

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, of its associated earth movements, has quietly continued so as to gently fold the overlying

and

strata.

Geography

The main towns of the Pays de Bray are

Neufchâtel-en-Bray Neufchâtel-en-Bray (; Norman: ''Neucâtel-en-Bray, Le Câtel'') is a commune situated in the Seine-Maritime department of the Normandy Region, northern France. The Neufchâtel cheese is made in the area. Geography Location Neufchâtel is a ...

and

Gournay-en-Bray Gournay-en-Bray () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A town of farming and light industry, it is situated in the Pays de Bray, some east of Rouen, at the junction of the N ...

. It is primarily an agricultural region. Its "brand" products are its three

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

Neufchâtel cheese Neufchâtel (, ; Norman: ''Neu(f)câtel'') is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened, bloomy-rind cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date back a ...

, the cider spirit,

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

and Normandy

pommeau Pommeau is an alcoholic drink made in north-western France by mixing apple juice with apple brandy: Calvados in Normandy () or lambig in Brittany (). Considered a mistelle, it is generally consumed as an apéritif, or as an accompaniment to mel ...

. The famous local speciality of

fromage frais ''Fromage blanc'' (; ; also known as ''maquée'') is a fresh cheese originating from the north of France and southern Belgium. The name means "white cheese" in French. ''Fromage frais'' ("fresh cheese") differs from ''fromage blanc'' in that, acc ...

called

petit Suisse ''Petit-suisse'' (meaning "little Swiss cheese") is a French cheese from the Normandy region. Production and use ''Petit-suisse'' is a ''fromage frais'', an unripened, unsalted, smooth, and creamy cheese with a texture closer to a very thic ...

was launched from a farm near

; Charles Gervais set up his first factory at Ferrières-en-Bray and his second one at

(closed in 2009).

Communications

Road

The Pays de Bray is served by several axial roads: * From south-east to northwest the "route départmentale" (D road) D 915 (former

route nationale 15 The N 15 was a trunk road (Route Nationale) in France. Route The RN 15 links the A13 to Le Havre via Rouen and Yvetot. The RN 15 originates at junction 14 on the A13 autoroute in the Yvelines ''département'' near Bonnières-sur-Seine. The roa ...

), the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

-to-

. * From north-east to south-west, the

A28 autoroute Autoroute 28 is a French mainland motorway linking Abbeville in the Somme to Tours in Indre-et-Loire. The motorway starts at Abbeville, splitting from the A16 and, after merging with the A13 near Rouen, ends at Tours, merging with the A10. ...

(motorway or turnpike), joining

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

to Rouen and

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

. * From east to west, the route nationale 31 which joins Reims and Rouen by Beauvais. * From east to west, the

A29 autoroute The A 29 is a major toll motorway in Normandy and Picardy, northwestern and northern France. The road is also part of European route E44. From its western interchange with the A28 autoroute until its junction with the A26 autoroute, part of the ...

which joins Saint-Quentin and Caen by

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

Rail

The rail network is reduced to two lines. The main one, electrified, joins Rouen-Rive-Droite to

. The second was joining between gare de Paris-Saint-Lazare and

''via''

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dép ...

but is closed between Serqueux (where it meets the first one) and

Adjoining natural regions

(to the west) *

Vexin normand Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to sout ...

(to the south) * Pays de Thelle (to the south-east) *

Beauvaisis Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populo ...

(to the east) *

Petit-Caux Petit-Caux is a commune in the department of Seine-Maritime, northern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the 18 former communes of Saint-Martin-en-Campagne, Assigny, Auquemesnil, Belleville-sur-Mer, Berneva ...

(to the north)

References

Sources

*French Wikipedia article:

Pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km²) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the ...

*BRGM ''Carte géologique de la France à l'échelle du millionième'' 6th edition. (2003)

External links

Cultural & tourism association of the Normandy part of the Pays de Bray
The English version is not yet running.
Site about Neufchâtel-en-Bray
The English version is not yet running. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pays De Bray Geography of Normandy Natural regions of France