Beauce [key], region, in Orléanais, N France, in the Paris Basin, between the Seine and Loir rivers. It now comprises Eure-et-Loir dept. and parts of Loiret and Loir-et-Cher. It is the “granary of France”—a vast, limestone plateau where corn, wheat, beets, potatoes, barley, and oats are grown. The region shared the history of the countship of Chartres, which is its only important city. Little Beauce, between the Loir and Loire rivers, is also a rich wheat area; Vendôme is its center.
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