A chain of hills called the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to south-west through the department to the north of Dijon and continues south-westwards as the Côte d'Or escarpment, which takes its name from that of the department (without the hyphen). It is the south-east facing slope of this which is the site of the celebrated Burgundy vineyards. To the south-east of the plateau and escarpment, the department lies in the broad valley of the middle section of the river Saône.