Finistère

Finistère (Lat. finis terræ, 'land's end'), a department at the western extremity of France, comprehending a part of the former duchy of Bretagne, and washed on three sides by the English Channel and the ocean. Area, 2585 sq. m. Pop. (1872) 642,963; (1891) 727,012. It is traversed from east to west by two low but picturesque chains of hills, clad with fir-trees and heath, and forming fruitful valleys of meadow-land between. Its coast is very rugged and broken, its shores bristling with dangerous granite rocks, and fringed with many islands. The most dreaded headland is the Pointe de Raz, rising over 260 feet above the sea, near which, in the 16th century, were still visible the ruins of Is, the ancient capital of Cornouaille (q.v.). The temperature in general is low, the climate very humid; rain and mist are of almost daily occurrence. There are a number of coast streams, including the Odet, the Elorn, and the Aune, which forms part of the great line of communication between Brest and Nantes. The department raises more grain than even its dense population can consume, and vegetables, flax, and cider also are exported; it is noted for its small, hardy horses; and cattle, swine, and bees are largely reared. Its argentiferous lead-mines are no longer worked, and its manufactures, which include rope-spinning, weaving, and some shipbuilding, are of little importance; its sardine-fisheries, however, employ over 7000 hands. The department is divided into five arrondissements—Brest, Châteauulin, Morlaix, Quimper, and Quimperlé—with Quimper as chief town. See BRITTANY.