The Plateau de Saclay, also called Silicon Valley Européenne (in English, European Silicon Valley), is located north of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It is bounded by the valley of the

Yvette Yvette is female given name, the French feminine form of Yves, which means yew or archer in some cases. Name days *Czech Republic: ''7 June'' *Hungary: ''13 January'', ''6 May'' and ''29 June'' *Poland: ''13 January'' *Slovakia: ''27 May'' ...

(''

Vallée de Chevreuse Vallée de Chevreuse (Chevreuse Valley) is the valley of the Yvette River in the Yvelines and Essonne departments. It encompasses the communes around Chevreuse ( Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, Choisel, Dampierre, etc.) within the Parc naturel r ...

'') to the south and east, and the valley of the Bièvre to the north. It hosts world-class universities, engineering and management schools and research centers, such as

Paris-Saclay University Paris-Saclay University (french: Université Paris-Saclay) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It is one of the 13 prestigious universities that emerged from the division of the University of Paris, also known as the Sorbonne. ...

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, HEC,

ENSTA ParisTech The ENSTA Paris, officially École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées ( en, Superior National School of Advanced Techniques) is a prestigious French graduate school of engineering ("''école d'ingénieurs''"). Founded in 1741, it is th ...

CentraleSupélec CentraleSupélec (CS) is a top French graduate engineering school of Paris-Saclay University in Gif-sur-Yvette, France. It was established on 1 January 2015, as a result of a strategic merger between two prestigious grandes écoles in France ...

, IOGS, IHES, CEA,

Inria The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name ''Institut de recherche en informatiq ...

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of t ...

research center, one

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

research facility, and national scientific instruments such as the

SOLEIL SOLEIL ("Sun" in French) is a synchrotron facility near Paris, France. It performed its first acceleration of electrons on May 14, 2006. The name ''SOLEIL'' is a backronym for ''Source optimisée de lumière d’énergie intermédiaire du LURE ...

synchrotron and the NeuroSpin Project. In order to create an even more attractive campus, other engineering schools and high-value centers are planned:

EDF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, ...

headquarters,

Agro ParisTech AgroParisTech (officially ''Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement'', or Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences)English naming according tEnglish brochure is a French higher educati ...

Telecom ParisTech Telecom may refer to: * Telecommunications ** A telephone company (or ''telecommunications service provider'') ** The telecommunications industry * Telecom Animation Film, a Japanese studio See also * Telcom (disambiguation) * Telekom (disambi ...

, and

ENSAE ParisTech ENSAE Paris (officially École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique Paris) is a university in France, known as Grandes Ecoles and a member of IP Paris (Institut Polytechnique de Paris). ENSAE Paris is known as the spec ...

for instance.

Geography

The plateau is located about 165 meters above sea level. It is traversed by ditches that drain water. These works, as well as the ''étang de Saclay'', located near the town of

Saclay Saclay () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It had a population of 3,067 in 2006. It is best known for the large scientific facility CEA Saclay, mostly dealing with nuclear and pa ...

, were intended to supply water to

Versailles Castle The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

(and in particular its fountains). It includes the municipalities of

Gif-sur-Yvette Gif-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Gif on Yvette'') is a commune in south-western Ile de France, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography The town is crossed by and named after the river Yvette. The total area is and is green sp ...

(Moulon district),

Orsay Orsay () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. A fortified location of the Chevreuse valley since the 8th centur ...

Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Inhabitants of Palaiseau are ...

, Saint-Aubin,

Vauhallan Vauhallan () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Vauhallan are known as ''Vauhallanais''. See also *Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 communes of th ...

Villiers-le-Bâcle Villiers-le-Bâcle () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Villiers-le-Bâcle are known as ''Villebaclais''. The painter Tsugouharu Foujita is buried in the commune's cemetery. See also * ...

in the department of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Toussus-le-Noble Toussus-le-Noble () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History In 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from the Essonne department and added to Yvelin ...

, Châteaufort,

Les Loges-en-Josas Les Loges-en-Josas () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designe ...

and Buc in

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines () is a new town and an agglomeration community in the French department of Yvelines. It is one of the original five villes nouvelles (new towns) of Paris and was named after the Saint Quentin Pond, which was chosen to ...

(''plateau de Villaroy'').

Ponds and ditches

When, from 1670,

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

built his

, he asked Le Nôtre to create a sumptuous park enlivened by a myriad of fountains, waterfalls and ponds. Necessary to bring the water to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

put out two major projects: * The ''

Machine de Marly The Machine de Marly, also known as the Marly Machine or the Machine of Marly, was a large hydraulic system in Yvelines, France, built in 1684 to pump water from the river Seine and deliver it to the Palace of Versailles.Thompson 2006, p. 251 ...

'' was supposed to pump up the waters of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

to the ''Plaine de

Louveciennes Louveciennes () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and adjacent to Marly-le-Roi. Population ...

''. * Collection and storm water drainage from

Trappes Trappes () is a commune in the Yvelines department, region of Île-de-France, north-central France. It is a banlieue located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris, in the new town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Transport T ...

and

via channels. It is a hydraulic system with a unique set of ponds all connected by 200 km of open ditches spread over 13000 hectares (32000 acres ), which was created to supply the fountains of

by mere gravity. On the ''plateau de Saclay'', six ditches, including the Saint-Aubin ditch, the Favreuse ditch and the Corbeville ditch, feed the old pond ''étang Vieux'' (37 hectares (91 acres)) and the new pond ''étang Neuf'' (33 hectares (81 acres)) near Saclay with a capacity of approximately 1.6 million m³.

Economics / Urban

The ''plateau de Saclay'' has a long agricultural tradition. However, it became an important center of education, scientific research and research and development after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and especially since the 1960s. Many ''

grandes écoles Grandes may refer to: * Agustín Muñoz Grandes, Spanish general and politician *Banksia ser. Grandes, a series of plant species native to Australia * Grandes y San Martín, a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain ...

'' and research centers are located on the plateau, and it is anticipated that the

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

becomes one of the most important in Europe in the coming years. Municipalities are part of the plateau agglomeration communities: * the ''

Communauté d'agglomération Paris-Saclay The ''Communauté d'agglomération'' ''Paris-Saclay'' ''(or CPS)'' is an administrative entity in the Essonne département, near Paris. The administrative center is Orsay.Villiers-le-Bâcle Villiers-le-Bâcle () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Villiers-le-Bâcle are known as ''Villebaclais''. The painter Tsugouharu Foujita is buried in the commune's cemetery. See also * ...

, Igny, Saint-Aubin,

Bures-sur-Yvette Bures-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Bures on Yvette'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Geography Bures-sur-Yvette is located in the Vallée de Chevreuse on the river Yvette, along which the RER line&nbs ...

Gometz-le-Châtel Gometz-le-Châtel () is a commune in the Essonne department of France. It is a southern suburb of Paris, 25 km from the center of Paris. Geography This village is near Les Ulis, Bures-sur-Yvette, Gif-sur-Yvette and Gometz-la-Ville, al ...

... * the ''Communauté d'agglomération Versailles Grand Parc'' : Buc,

Jouy-en-Josas Jouy-en-Josas () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Jouy-en-Josas is home to the main campus of HEC Sc ...

Toussus-le-Noble Toussus-le-Noble () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History In 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from the Essonne department and added to Yvelin ...

, Bièvres ... It is crossed from north to south by the ''

Route nationale 118 Route nationale 118 is now a French route nationale from Sèvres to Les Ulis. History The route was created in 1972. It takes the place of route nationale 187 between Sèvres and Meudon la Forêt, of the route nationale 306 between Saclay and ...

'', the axis

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris. Location Les Ulis is a new town located in the Île-de-France, in the south-west of the P ...

. It is not directly served by the RER, but the RER lines B and C respectively serve the ''

'' and the valley of the Bièvre, surrounding the plateau. Within the framework of the project "''

Grand Paris The Métropole du Grand Paris (; "Metropolis of Greater Paris"),There is no official or widely-used English translation yet. also known as Grand Paris or Greater Paris, is a ''métropole'' covering the City of Paris and its nearest surrounding su ...

''", the final scheme adopted on 26 May 2011 by the ''Société du Grand Paris'' concerning the transport network ''Grand Paris Express'' provides an automated metro line linking

(''

Gare de Versailles-Chantiers Versailles–Chantiers is the principal railway station serving the city of Versailles. It provides national service on the Paris–Brest railway line, as well as regional, and commuter (Paris Paris () is the capital and most populou ...

'') to the

Paris-Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly an ...

via the ''plateau de Saclay''. Réseau de transport public du Grand paris
/ref> The Skytrain project raises, however, hostility of the population.

''Le plateau du Moulon''

The ''plateau du Moulon'' is the south-eastern part of the ''plateau de Saclay'', located in the municipalities of

and

. This is another place for research and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

(''Campus d'Orsay'').

History

Recent work on the ''plateau'' by archaeologists from Inrap and

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

show the presence of an almost continuous occupation since the first

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. A

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

is located on the site of Moulon. In 2006, a Gallic village was discovered on the ''plateau de Moulon''. It was probably composed of one hundred members:

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

and

ranchers A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

. The ferme d'Orsigny (Orsigny farm) (resulting from the combination of two working farms) occupies the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman (''Orsiniacum'') villa, which itself followed a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

settlement. The site was reoccupied by the

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

after its destruction by fire. From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, Orsigny was refounded by the monks of

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north ...

. It became, in the sixteenth century, a hamlet around a farm belonging to the family Mérault, which managed to establish an area of 256 hectares, divided later. In 1644, the hamlet was depopulated, an heiress of Mérault donated the domain to the

congregation of the mission , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...

of St. Vincent de Paul. It reached the area of 345 hectares in 1670. In 1789, the church property was nationalized and sold to Parisians.

References

{{coord, 48.74, 2.17, display=title

Landforms of Essonne Landforms of Yvelines Paris-Saclay Landforms of Île-de-France