CALVADOS, a department in the north of France, extending from 48° 46' to 49° 25' N. lat., and from 0° 26' E. to l o 10' W. long., formed out of that part of Lower Normandy which comprised Bessin, Bocage, the Champagne de Caen, Auge, and the western part of Lieuvin. It is said to have received its name from a ledge of rocks, stretching along the coast for a distance of about 15 miles between the mouths of the rivers Orne and Vire, on which the Calvados, a vessel of the Spanish Armada, was wrecked in 1588. It is bounded N. by the English Channel, E. by the department of Eure, S. by that of Orne, W. by that of Manche, and has an area of 2132 square miles. The southern part of the department is somewhat elevated, being crossed by a mountain range, and forms a continuation of the great water-shed between the basins of the Seine and Loire; but the rest of the surface is gently undulating, and consists of extensive valleys watered by numerous streams which fall into the English Channel. The coast is high, and generally inaccessible, except at the mouths of the principal rivers, such as the Touques, the Dives, the Orne, and the Vire, which are navigable at high tide for several miles inland, and are indicated by lighthouses at their mouths. The valleys, which generally slope in a direction from south to north, afford abundant pasturage for horses and cattle, and the agriculture of the district is superior to that of most of the other departments. Wheat, potatoes, and all kinds of vegetables are raised in great quantities for the markets of the interior and for exportation. The orchards of the Auge district produce a very superior kind of cider, of which upwards of 30,000,000 gallons are made in the department; while Isigny is the centre of a large domestic and export trade ...