Editing Sainte-Mère-Église (section)

==Geography==
Sainte-Mère-Église lies in a flat area of the [[Cotentin peninsula|Cotentin Peninsula]] known locally as ''le Plain'' (as opposed to the standard French term ''la plaine'').<ref>[http://www.wikimanche.fr/Plain Plain] ''Wikimanche''.</ref> The Plain is bounded on the west by the [[Merderet]] River and by the English channel to the east, and by the communes of [[Valognes]] and [[Carentan]] to the north and south, respectively. Besides Sainte-Mère-Église, the Plain's other major town is [[Montebourg]], and its coast includes [[Utah Beach]].

Although most of the Cotentin Peninsula belongs to the [[Armorican Massif]], the Plain is part of the [[Paris Basin]].<ref name=geolo>Guide géologique Normandie Maine. Editions DUNOD. 2ème édition. Page75. {{ISBN|2-10-050695-1}}.</ref> Argillaceous limestone from the [[Sinemurian]]<ref name=geolo/> contributes to the region's dairy product appellation (AOC) Isigny-Sainte-Mère, which it shares with [[Bessin]].

Horse breeding has long been practiced in the Plain, which is regarded as the cradle of the [[Anglo-Norman horse]] breed, the product of English stallions and mares from the [[Cotentin Peninsula|Cotendin Peninsula]].<ref>Rémy Villand, « Au pays des herbages et des marais », ''La Manche au passé et au présent'', éd. Manche-Tourisme, 1984, p. 49.</ref>