Charente-Maritime is a
département of
France, number 17, on the west coast, in the
Poitou-Charentes region. The land area is
6848 km2. It includes the islands
Ile de Ré and
Ile d'Oléron[?]. Neighbouring départements are
Gironde in the south,
Dordogne to the southeast,
Charente to the east and
Deux-Sèvres and
Vendée to the north.
On September 4, 1941, the Charente Inférieure département was renamed Charente-Maritime.
Préfecture: La Rochelle.
Sous-préfectures: Jonzac[?], Rochefort, Saintes[?], St Jean d'Angély[?].
See also: List of the communes of the Charente-Maritime département