Pays de Caux

Location within France

The Pays de Caux (pronounced [pɛi də ko]) is an area in Normandy, France. It makes up 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 extends to the cliffs on the English Channel coast. Its coastline is called the Côte d'Albâtre. In the east, it borders on the Pays de Bray where the layers of soil below the chalk show through.

The area depends on manufacturing more than as agriculture. Even so, the soil quality of the Pays de Caux is the finest in France.[1] It is also known for its fine fabrics.

Cauchois is a dialect of the Norman language. The Pays de Caux is one of the last places outside the Cotentin Peninsula where the Norman language is spoken. Its main cities are Le Havre, Dieppe, Fécamp, Yvetot and Étretat.

In the Norman language caux means lime, calcium carbonate.

Artistic connections

The rugged scenery of the Pays de Caux is only a short distance from Paris. Artists including Claude Monet and Gustave Courbet came there to paint.

References

  1. John Pinkerton, A general collection of ... voyages and travels in all parts of the world (Longman, Hurst, Rees, et al., 1809), p. 393