Pas-de-Calais (Fr. for Strait of Dover), a department in the north of France, formed out of Artois and Picardy, and bounded on the W. by the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. Area, 2550 sq. m.; pop. (1861) 724,338; (1891) 874,364. The surface is level, with the exception of a low ridge running to the north-west, and ending in
Cape Gris-nez (q.v.). The soil is fertile, mostly under cultivation, and watered by numerous short rivers, the majority of which are navigable and connected by canals. The coast-line is 80 miles in length, and the shores are in certain parts low and sandy. The climate is exceedingly inconstant. Fishing is actively carried on, particularly in the neighbourhood of Boulogne. Coal, iron, and other minerals are raised and worked, and considerable quantities of turf are cut. The industrial establishments are numerous and important, as iron-foundries, beet-root sugar factories, glass-works, potteries, tanneries, and others. Boulogne and Calais are the principal harbours. There are six arrondissements—Arras, Béthune, St Omer, St Pol, Boulogne, and Montreuil. The capital is Arras.