Drome, a S. E. department of France, formed from parts of Dauphiny and Provence, bordering on the departments of Isere, Hautes-Alpes, Basses-Alpes, Vaucluse, and Ardeche, from the last of which it is separated by the Rhone; area, about 2,500 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 320,417. It derives its name from the river Drome, which crosses it from E. to W., dividing it into two nearly equal parts. It is drained also by the Isere and numerous other streams, all, like the Drome, affluents of the Rhone. The surface is much broken by mountains, particularly in the east, where the spurs of the Alps rise to an average height of 4,000 to 5,000 ft. These furnish excellent pasturage, and are browsed in the summer and autumn by large flocks of sheep, many of which are driven thither from neighboring departments. Fir, oak, and beech trees grow on the summits, and on the lower hills are plantations of chestnuts and walnuts, from the latter of which oil is made. The forests abound in game and the lakes and streams in fish. A large part of the soil is thin and sandy, and not enough grain is raised for home consumption; but the vine, olive, mulberry, and other fruits are raised in large quantities.

Some of the vineyards are famous, among them L'Hermitage near Tain, on the Rhone, and those of Chateauneuf, Douzere, and Montelimart. The making of wine and the production of silk are the chief industries. There are manufactures also of porcelain, beet-root sugar, coarse woollens, hosiery, serge, linens, gloves, leather and morocco, paper, and bricks. Mines of iron, lead, and coal are worked, and gypsum and marble abound. The department is divided into the arrondissements of Valence, Die, Montelimart, and Nyons. Capital, Valence.