It was on the banks of the Seine that the city of Paris was founded. Over 2,300 years ago, the Celtic Parisii people built a town on the island in the middle of the river. Then, in the year 52, the Romans came and conquered it. Then came the Vikings, and then the Franks. It was quite a popular river. Can you guess why everyone wanted a piece of the Seine?
The Seine is actually not just a river. It's also a highway! Even in ancient times, boats and ships sailed down the Seine carrying all sorts of goods. Traders were able to move products easily through the region thanks to the river. Back then, they sold wine, grains, and lumber. They even traded metals like gold and tin. These days, big boats mostly take stuff like oil and construction materials through the Seine.
The Seine is, of course, a major source of water. And we all know how important water is! The Seine provides water to an area of over 30,470 square miles. That's more land than five Connecticuts!
Some of the water goes through the pipes and gets turned into drinking water. Some of it helps produce electricity by cooling power plants.
Unfortunately, when you have a powerful river, you can sometimes get bad floods. When really heavy rains come, the Seine overflows.
It last happened earlier this year. This was in January, which is one of the coldest months! Can you imagine being wet when it's freezing outside? Some restaurants and parks near the river were completely underwater. The water even got into some houses and basements.
