one of the departments in the east frontier of France, deriving its name from a river so called, a part of the ancient province of Burgundy. It is bounded on the north by the departments of Saone-Loire and Jura; on the east by Switzerland and Savoy, from which the Rhone divides it; on the south by the department of Isere, separated also by the Rhone; and on the west by the departments of the Rhone and the Saone-Loire, from both which the Saone divides it. The extent is 2257 square miles, or 1,444,480 acres. The eastern part is very mountainous, being a projection of the Jura group. The western part is hilly, but interspersed with marshes. Some tracts of valuable land are found in the intervals. The chief products are rye, maize, wheat, some wine, a little salt, and oil. The dairy yields good butter and cheese. The department is divided into five arrondissements, 35 cantons, and 446 communes; and contains 22 cities, 403 market-towns and villages, 1467 hamlets, and 7000 insulated houses. The population in 1851 amounted to 372,939, all Catholics, except in the arrondissement of Gers, where the greater part are Reformed Protestants.