Hainaut

The Hainaut Province belongs to Wallonia, the French speaking south of Belgium- It has a long border to France, and the geology on both sides is also simmilar, which actually means three basins running east-west, the Mons Basin, the La Louvière Basin, and the Charleroi Basin. They are bordered by the Brabant Massif in the north and the Diannt Fold & Thrust Belt in the south. Those basins are composed of sedimentary rocks which were deposited during the Mesozoic, on the surface there are Cretaceous rocks, below Carbon sediments with coal seams. The basins are the main coal areas of Belgium, their continuation in France the coal field of northern France. The province has numerous show mines, four are UNESCO WHL sites. Further to the north the northern coastal plain follows which is devoid of underground sites, except subterraneas.