Landscapes of Essonne

Essonne, drawn by plateaus and valleys

In Essonne, the very contrasting reliefs strongly contribute to differentiate territories: alternating vast plateaus and valleys with very steep slopes, they draw strong transitions locatable in the landscape. The two great geological plateaus of Beauce and Brie draw the identity reliefs of the Essonne territory. By juxtaposing each other at a different altitude, they form a line of hillsides that elongate in an arc between Champcueil and Verrieres-le-Buisson. The Seine and its tributaries (Essonne, Juine, Barley, Rémarde, Yvette and Bièvre) cut through these plateaus forming valleys where towns and villages have gradually developed.

Where the Ile-de-France territories and landscapes meet

The vast parisian basin is made up of historically distinct countries whose meeting takes place essentially in the center, at the exact point where Paris was established and developed. Thus, the Vexin, Valois, Brie, Beauce and Mantois converge on the capital, delineated from each other by the large valleys that shaped the morphology of the territory. The department of Essonne, south of the capital, covers part of the Mantois (whose end forms the Hurepoix), Beauce, Gâtinais and Brie French. Locally, relief, rivers, woodlands, agricultural areas or urbanization delimit specific landscape units, which contribute to the diversity and amenity of the Essonne living environment.

An exceptional natural heritage

With a quarter of its territory occupied by natural environments, Essonne has a particularly rich and varied biodiversity, where forests, limestone grasslands, sandstone flats and wetlands coexist. These environments are the product of relief and geology, of which Essonne is one of the historic cradles as a science. Home to many careers, old or contemporary, open on the slopes and valley bottoms, Essonne has about 240 hectares of geological sites.

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Essonne, drawn by plateaus and valleys

Where the Ile-de-France territories and landscapes meet

An exceptional natural heritage

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