a department in northern France. Area, 5,900 sq km. Population, 335,000 (1975). The capital is Chartres.

In 1968 the department’s industry employed 28 percent of the economically active population, and agriculture employed 18 percent. The plain known as the Beauce is an important agricultural region that produces mainly for the market; wheat, sugar beets, and fodder crops are grown, and cattle, swine and sheep are raised. Industry in the department is represented by machine building, including the manufacture of agricultural machinery and electrical products, food processing, and the manufacture of saffian. The principal industrial centers are Brou, Châteaudun, and Dreux.