Tortefontaine
Tortefontaine (French pronunciation: [tɔʁtəfɔ̃tɛn]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.[3] The commune is part of the 7 Vallées community of communes, which includes 69 municipalities and had 29,602 inhabitants in 2019.
Tortefontaine | |
|---|---|
The school, town hall and church of Tortefontaine | |
Coat of arms | |
Tortefontaine Tortefontaine | |
| Coordinates: 50°19′22″N 1°55′17″E / 50.3228°N 1.9214°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais |
| Arrondissement | Montreuil |
| Canton | Auxi-le-Château |
| Intercommunality | CC des 7 Vallées |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Francis Tetu[1] |
| Area 1 | 11.81 km2 (4.56 sq mi) |
| Population (Jan. 2020)[2] | 219 |
| • Density | 19/km2 (48/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 62824 /62140 |
| Elevation | 11–98 m (36–322 ft) (avg. 26 m or 85 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography edit
Tortefontaine lies southwest of Hesdin, on the D136 road with the Varnette, a small tributary of the Authie flowing through it. The rural agricultural commune has three hamlets, Le Molinel, Le Bout de Bas and Saint-Josse-au-Bois.
Hydrography edit
The territory of the commune is located in the Artois-Picardy basin.
The commune is crossed by the Authie, a natural watercourse of 108.18 km, which has its source in the commune of Coigneux, located in the department of the Somme, and which flows into the English Channel between the communes of Berck and Fort-Mahon-Plage.
Etymology edit
The name comes from tortus "crooked" and fontana "fountain". The name is explained by the meanders of the course of the Authie which crosses the commune, a natural watercourse of 108.18 km, which has its source in the commune of Coigneux at a place called the "Fontaine du Rossignol", located in the department of the Somme, and which flows into the English Channel.
The name of the locality is attested in the forms Torta fontena (late eleventh century); Tortus fons (1125); Torta fontana (1137); Tortefontaine (1181); Tortefontene (1288); Tertefontaine (1384); Tortifontaines (1484); Torfontaines (1638); Torte-Fontaines (1720); Tortfontaine (1790)[4].
Population edit
The inhabitants are called Tortefontainois.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 285 | — |
| 1975 | 225 | −3.32% |
| 1982 | 258 | +1.97% |
| 1990 | 216 | −2.20% |
| 1999 | 231 | +0.75% |
| 2007 | 231 | +0.00% |
| 2012 | 259 | +2.31% |
| 2017 | 222 | −3.04% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
Places and monuments edit
- The ruins of the abbey of Dommartin. First built in 1161, the ruins are found in farmland.
- 17th / 18th century buildings and more ruins of the same.
Landscape edit
The commune is part of the western part of the "Val d'Authie landscape" as defined in the Atlas of the Landscapes of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, designed by the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL).
This landscape, which concerns 83 communes, is bounded: to the south, in the department of the Somme, by the "landscape of Authie and Ponthieu, depending on the atlas of the landscapes of Picardy, and to the north and east by the landscapes of Montreuillois, Ternois and the landscapes of the Cambrian and Artesian plateaus. The border character of the Authie valley, today between the Pas-de-Calais and the Somme, dates back to the Middle Ages when it separated the kingdom of France from the kingdom of Spain, to the north.
Its northern slope is steep and steep, while the southern slope offers gentler slopes. To the west, the river opens onto the Bay of Authie, typical of the Picardy estuary, and flows into the English Channel. With its vast estuary and the landscapes of the lowlands, the bay of Authie contrasts with the greener landscapes upstream.
The Authie, a deep cut in the artesian plateau, has created pronounced eco-landscape entities with a limestone plateau whose altitude varies from 100 to 163 m that extends on each side of the river. The altitude of the plateau declines from the Doullens region in the east (highest point at 163 m) to the Picardy lowlands in the west (less than 40 m). The bottom of the Authie valley, on the other hand, is covered with alluvium and peat. The Authie is a coastal river classified as a first-class watercourse where the dominant fish population is made up of salmonids. The land cover of the landscapes of the Authie Valley is made up of 70% under cultivation.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
- ^ INSEE commune file
- ^ Dictionnaire topographique de la France. 24, Dictionnaire topographique du département du Pas-de-Calais : comprenant les noms de lieu anciens et modernes / réd. par le comte de Loisne,... ; publ. par ordre du ministre de l'Instruction publique ; et sous la dir. du Comité des travaux historiques. 1907.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE