Lower Normandy or Basse-Normandie in French is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. The region includes three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover the part of Normandy traditionally termed "Lower Normandy" lying west of the Dives River, the Pays d'Auge (except a small part remaining in Haute-Normandie), a small part of the Pays d'Ouche (the main part remaining in Haute-Normandie), the Norman Perche and part of the "French" Perche. It covers 10,857 square kilometers, 3.2 percent of the surface area of France.
Traditional regions of Lower Normandy include the Cotentin Peninsula and La Hague, the Campagne de Caen, the Norman Bocage, the Bessin and the Avranchin.
