a department in the south-east of France, lying between the eastern side of the Rhone, and the branches of the Alps. The soil is various, in the north chiefly calcareous, in the west sandy, and in other parts covered with flinty pebbles. Agriculture is in a very rude state, the corn raised is not sufficient for internal consumption, and leguminous plants do not thrive here. The climate admits of the vine, the olive, and the mulberry, but none of them are cultivated with any degree of spirit. There are mines of coal, but of a kind extremely sulphurous. The manufactures are trifling. The extent of this department is 234,560 hectares, and the population in 1817 was 225,832. Avignon is the chief town.