The département of Somme (80) is located in the north of France and named after the Somme river (which takes its name from the Celtic word for “tranquility”), it is composed of 4 arrondissements, 46 cantons and 782 communes and its capital is Amiens.
Located in the northwestern part of the Picardy region, it is bordered by the départements of Pas de Calais to the north, Aisne to the east, Oise to the south, Seine Maritime to the west and by 30 miles of the Channel to the northwest, where the Somme River estuary and the Bay of Somme account for most of the coastal area.
The département was created in 1790 from a small part of the old province of Artois and largely from the historic province of Picardy.
The blazon of the Somme is inspired by the coat of arms of Picardy, with a change
of colour and the addition of a wavy divide symbolising the River Somme which flows through the département.
