274 P AEI S Plate V. T)ARIS,ithe capital of France, the seat of the legislature and of the administrative departments, is situated on both banks of the Seine, in 48 50 14" N. lat. and 2 20 14" E. long. (Observatory). It occupies the centre of the so-called Paris basin, which is traversed by the Seine from south-east to north-west, open towards the west, and surrounded by a line of Jurassic heights. The granitic substratum is covered by Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary formations ; and at several points building materials freestone, limestone, or gypsum have been laid bare by erosion. It is partly, indeed, to the existence of such quarries in its neighbourhood, or on the very ground on which it stands, that the city owes its vast development. 1 The mean elevation of the Seine valley at Paris is from 100 to 130 feet. On the north bank rise the heights of Charonne, of the Buttes-Chaumont (404 feet), of La Villette, and of Montmartre (345 feet) ; on the left or south bank the Butte-aux-Cailles, and beyond the valley of the Bievre the hill of Ste Genevieve and Montrouge. Between those lines of heights, the Seine flows from east to west, encircling the island of St Louis, the lie de la Cite", and lower down the lie aux Cygnes. The Bievre or Gobelins stream flows for some distance in an open channel on the left side of the river, and then disappears in a sewer. On the right side the brook which used to run from M6nilmontant to Chaillot past the site now occupied by the opera, has at length been dammed by masonry, driven into the sewers, or lost underground. Climate. Climate. Paris enjoys a fairly uniform climate, subject, however, to frequent changes at all seasons of the year. The mean temperature, calculated by M. Flammarion from observations extending over seventy-two years (1804-76), is 51 4 Fahr. The highest reading observed (in July 1874, and again in July 1881) is 101 Fahr., the lowest (in December 1879) is - 14. The monthly means for the sixty-four years 1806-1870 are January 36 3, February 40 -1, March 43 5, April 50 -2,. May 57 6, June 63 0, July 66 0, August 65 3, September 60 -3, October 52 -3, November 43 7, December 38 -7. The river freezes when the temperature falls below 18. It was frozen in nearly its whole extent from Bercy to Auteuil in the winters of 1819-20, 1829-30, 1879-80; and partially in the winters of 1840-41, 1853-54, 1857-58, and 1870-71. Rain falls, on an average, on 143 days, of which 38 are in winter, 35 in spring, 34 in summer, and 36 in autumn, the average quantity in a year being 19 68 inches. The driest month is February, the rainiest July, the rainfall for these months being respectively 87 inch and 2 15 inches. There are 12 days on which snow falls, 184 on which the sky is covered, 40 with fogs, and 9 with hail. The following figures show the directions of the winds : X. 38 days, N.E. 41, E. 24, S.E. 26, S. 53, S.W. 70, W. 67, and N.W. 36, with 10 calm days. Thunderstorms average 13 per annum, ranging from 6 (in 1823) to 25 (1811). There is comparatively little variation in the barometer. Its mean height is 2 9 7 6 3 inches at a height of 216 feet above sea-level. On the whole the climate is healthy and agreeable, its variations, though frequent, being comparatively slight. Bound- Boundaries.- -Since January 1, 1860, the boundaries of aries. Paris have extended to the fortifications built in accordance 1 The quarries of Montrouge, the Montmartre and the Buttes- Chaumont plaster-kilns, and the brick-works of Vaugirard or of Passy are gradually being built over. At Passy there is a cold chalybeate spring, and sulphurous waters are found at Belleville and at Les Batignolles. with the scheme of 1840. The total area thus included is 30 square miles, of which 6 square miles are occupied by the public streets, 458 acres by squares and gardens, 642 acres by the river and canals, and 224 acres by cemeteries. The line of fortifications measures 22^- miles. On the right side of the river it presents 68 fronts, and on the left 26, each consisting of a curtain connecting two demi bastions. It is pierced by 56 gates, 9 openings for railways, and 2 openings for the Ourcq and the St Denis canals. Outside of this enceinte arc a number of detached forts arranged in two main lines. First come the forts erected previous to 1870 at St Denis, Aubervilliers, Romainville, Noisy, Rosny, Nogent, Vincennes, Ivry, Bicetre, Montrouge, Vanves, Issy, and Mont Valerien ; and next the new forts of Palaiseau, Villeras, Buc, and St Cyr, which protect Versailles, and Marly, St Jamme, and Aigremont, which surround St Germain. On the right side of the Seine are Forts Cormeilles, Domont, Montlignon, Montmorency, Ecouen, Stains, Vaujours, Yilliers, and Villeneuve St Georges. Between the two lines the Chatillon fort occupies the site of the German batteries which bombarded Paris in 1871. Boulevards, /Streets, and Squares. The line of the Streets. Boulevards from the Madeleine to the Bastille, nearly 3 miles, is one of the busiest and most fashionable in the world ; here are the Porte St Denis, the Porte St Martin, most of the large cafes, the Opera-House, and the various theatres distinguished as Le Vaudeville, Les Nouveaute s, L Opera Comique, Les Varie tes, Le Gymnase, La Porte St Martin, La Renaissance, L Ambigu, Les Folies Drama- tiques, Dejazet, Beaumarchais, and Le Cirque. Traffic passes east and west from the Bastille to the Place de la Concorde by Rue St Antoine and Rue de Rivoli. North and south the line of the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the Boulevard de Sebastopol stretches from the station of the Eastern Railway (Gare de 1 Est) to the Seine, and is continued by the Boulevard du Palais in the Cite and the Boulevard St Michel, on the left side of the river, as far as the observatory. The total length is not less than 2|- miles. On the right side of the river may also be mentioned the Rue Royale ; the Malesherbes and Haussmann boulevards, which cross the most elegant quarters of the town ; the Avenue de 1 Opera, which unites the Place du Palais Royal with the Place de 1 Opera, and terminates at the main entrance of the Opera ; the Rue de la Paix, Rue Auber, and Rue 4 Septembre, which also terminate in the Place de I Ope ra, and are remarkable for their magnificent shops ; Rue Lafayette, one of the longest thoroughfares of Paris, traversing the town from the Opera to the end of La Villette ; the Boulevard Magenta, from Montmartre to the Place de la Rdpublique ; Rue de Turbigo, from this place to the Halles Centrales. The older streets known as Richelieu, Vivien ne, De la Chaussde d Antin, St Honore", Montmartre, St Denis, St Martin, are full of shops and offices. The Place dc 1 Arc de Triomphe de 1 Etoile is the centre of twelve avenues stretching out from it like the spokes of a wheel, but not all as yet lined with buildings. On the left side of the river the main thoroughfare is the Boulevard St Germain, from Pont Sully to the Pont de la Concorde, which passes in front of the school of medicine, the Place St Germain des Pro s, and the war office. The Rue de Rennes, which extends from St Germain des Pre^s to the Mont Parnasse Railway station, is to be prolonged as far as the Seine. The finest of the public squares in Paris are Place de la Squares.
Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/292
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