Anais () is a commune in the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region of southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Location and access

Anais is located 14 km north of

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

. It is crossed from north to south by National Highway N10 from Angoulême to

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

which passes 1.5 km west of the town and is a landscaped expressway of four lanes. Anais is also 4 km west of Jauldes, 6 km south-east of Saint-Amant-de-Boixe - the chief town of the district, 7 km east of

Vars Vars, VARS may refer to: People * Ellen Marie Vars (born 1957), Norwegian Sami author * Henry Vars (1902–1977), Polish-American musician * John de Vars Hazard (1888–1968) * Láilá Susanne Vars (born 1976), Norwegian Sami lawyer and politic ...

, 11 km south of

Mansle Mansle () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Charente Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is about 20 km north of Angoulême on the main Route nationale 10, N10 road. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into ...

, and 5 km north-west of

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. The commune is traversed from east to west by the D11 road from

Chasseneuil Chasseneuil () is a commune in the Indre department in central France.Commune ...

to Rouillac via Vars which passes through the village and continues to join the N10 by an interchange on the western border of the commune. The D45 road also goes from the village south to La Chignolle as well as the D113 from

Montignac-Charente Montignac-Charente () is a former commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It was merged with Vars to form La Boixe on 1 January 2025. Population Sights and monuments * Château de Montignac - keep and remains of an 11th- ...

in the west to

Cherves Cherves () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Vienne department The following is a list of the 265 communes of the Vienne department of France. The commun ...

in the east.Google Maps
/ref>Géoportail

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Anais is 5 km north of Angoulême airport. The nearest train station is that at Angoulême.

Localities and hamlets

The town has two large hamlets or villages as big as Anais town: ''Le Breuil d'Anais'' located to the south-east, and ''Churet'' to the south on the old national highway 10 near ''La Chignolle'' in Champniers commune. To the west of the town the area of ''La Touche'' has developed due to the interchange on the N10. The commune also has many small hamlets and farms: ''La Claviere, Puymenier, les Nomblières, Puyfrançais, les Rivauds, Romefort, la Poutardière'', etc.

Geology and terrain

The soil of the town is made up of limestone dating from the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...

(

Kimmeridgian In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age in the Late Jurassic Epoch and a stage in the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 154.8 ±0.8 Ma and 149.2 ±0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian ...

). The Argence Valley has alluvium from the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

(gritty

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and

Peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

). The relief of the commune is that of a plateau with an average altitude of 100 m traversed from north to south by a small valley - the Argence Valley - which is a

Dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone, chalk, sand stone and sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bed ...

starting from Argence and descending to Anais. The highest point in the commune is at an altitude of 139 m and is located on the western boundary at the ''Vieille Touche'' (the ''Puy Delan''). The lowest point is at 60 m located along the southerly limit of the Argence at Churet. The town is 80 m above sea level.

Hydrography

The commune is traversed by the Argence, a tributary of the right bank of the

at Balzac. The Argence is formed from two small tributaries: the ''Ruisseau du Moulin des Rivauds'' which rises in the east and ''l'Étang'' which has its source in the north with the river Argence taking its name downstream of the town. The ''Fountaine de Maillou'' at the southern border near Churet also feeds the Argence.

Climate

As in the southern three-quarters and west of the department, the climate is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

Aquitaine.

Toponymy

''Anais'' is derived from the Latin ''Annacum'' or ''Villa Anni'', meaning that the village was built around the property of a rich Gallo-Roman named ''Annus''. The hamlet of Breuil d'Anais takes its name from the Low Latin ''brogilum'' which is of Gallic origin from ''brogilos'', meaning "small wood".

History

Aerial archaeology Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological sites from the air. It is a method of Archaeology, archaeological investigation that uses aerial photography, remote sensing, and other techniques to identify, record, and interpret archaeological ...

has revealed the moat and the foundations of a medieval castle.

Administration

From 1793 to 1801 Anais was in the canton of Jandes then passed to the Canton of Saint-Amant-de-Boixe.This could be a typing error on the Cassini database: should be canton of ''Jaudes'' List of Successive Mayors

Population

Distribution of Age Groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Anais and Charente Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Anais (16011)
/ref> Throughout the twentieth century, Anais had a high level of stability in its population but the population has increased significantly since the 1970s.

Economy

The main area of activity in Anais is at ''La Touche'' along the N10 where there is an Intermarché base (with 100-249 employees), trucks, a hotel restaurant, and various companies such as: Aluplast, AMS, Crousti'charente, Inomould, industrial boilermaker Guerin, SOMC and some Wholesalers, materials, tyres, and petroleum products. In the town is a bakery with another in La Touche where there is a bakery company. There are trade enterprises such as masonry, a general construction company, a farm, and a garage.

Facilities, services, and local life

Education

The school is an RPI between Anais, Aussac-Vadalle, and Tourriers. Anais has a kindergarten and a primary school while Aussac-Vadalle and Tourriers have elementary schools.Academic Inspectorate of Charente website

Sites and Monuments

External links

Anais on the National Geographic Institute website

Anais on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Anes'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Charente