The Alsace region of France

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Alsace is on the eastern border of France. It includes the départements of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin and borders Germany on the north and the east, Switzerland on the south. It is most notable these days for containing Strasbourg, the EC's "capital".

It contains many forests, primarily in the Vosges and in Bas-Rhin (Haguenau Forest) Its highest point is the Ballon de Guebwiller in Haut-Rhin (1,426 m.)

Alsace has a semi-continental climate with cold and dry winters and hot summers. There is little rainfall because the Vosges protect it from the west. The city of Colmar is the driest in France, with an annual precipitation of just 550 mm, and the area surrounding it is ideal for vins d'Alsace (Alsatian wine).
Alsace used to be part of the Holy Roman Empire and inhabited by people speaking a dialect of Upper German, but it gradually came under French sovereignty during the 17th century, and became one of the provinces of France.

Alsace contains the following departements (the chief town of each department - the prefecture) is shown in brackets:-

Bas-Rhin (Strasbourg)
Haut-Rhin (Colmar)

The population is 2.89% of France's total, on 1.47% of its area.