Ain

one of the Eastern departments of France, between Jura, Saéne-et-Loire, and Rhéne to N. and W., Heré to the 8., and Savoie and to the E. Its greatest length and are 52 miles, and its area 2,241 square Mountainous in the E., the country trends level plains to the W. and S.W., and is waby the Rhone and its affluents, the Ain and Sadne. The valleys and plains are fertile, proall kinds of cereals, fruits, and wine. On higher slopes are valuable forests, and the are rich in such products as potter's building and lithographic stone, asphalt, and Bourg ia the chief town, and Belley is the of a bishopric.