\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri195 \f1 \b Cap-Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez\par
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\b0 The region of Le Nord-Pas-de-Calais has 140 km (87 mls) of coastline and th
ree large ports (Calais, Boulogne, and Dunkirk) situated on the maritime boulevard of the North Sea. The sea is also a landscape, with its beaches of fine sand dominated by dunes hollowed out like basins, with its shingle beaches like the ones at Dunkirk
, and with its chalk cliffs that are eroded by the sea at a rate of 25 meters (80 feet) a century. The capes of Gris-Nez and Blanc-Nez (the latter rising to a height of 145 m / 475 ft) with their picturesque names (ôGray Noseö and ôWhite Noseö), mark the
point where the English Channel comes to an end and the North Sea begins.\par
