The Seuil du Poitou is a geological denomination for an area in western central
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 ...
where 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 ...
(Northeast) and
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
(Southwest)
sedimentary basin
Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subside ...
s meet, and which also is a gap between the ancient mountain ranges
Massif Armoricain
The Armorican Massif (french: Massif armoricain, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dov ...
(Northwest) and the
Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...
(Southeast).
Situated to the south of
Poitiers, the area is the
drainage divide between the
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
,
Charente and
Sèvre basins and a border between different climatic zones.
Maximum altitude on the Seuil du Poitou is 195 meters at
Champagné-Saint-Hilaire
Champagné-Saint-Hilaire () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
Champagné-Saint-Hilaire is located in the geographical area known as the seuil du Poitou. It is also the highest commune in t ...
.
Because it is a strategic way of access between the North and South of France, the area in or around the Seuil du Poitou has been the theater of many battles.
In 732, the
Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and, by Arab sources, the Battle of tiles of Martyrs ( ar, معركة بلاط الشهداء, Maʿrakat Balāṭ ash-Shuhadā'), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle ...
took place some 50 km North of the Seuil du Poitou.
{{Coord, 46, 22, N, 0, 17, E, source:frwiki_region:FR_scale:1000000, display=title
Geography of France