What is MENISCUS? The departure from a flat surface where a liquid meets a solid, due to surface tension. The effect can be seen clearly through the wall of a glass tube. The surface of water in air rises up the wall of the tube, while that of mercury is depressed, SIGHT-FEED LUBRICATOR.
An abandoned mud-covered scooter is found during the draining of the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, France Charles Platiau/Reuters
Â© Pierre Belzeaux/Photo Researchers. Most of France is drained by five major river systems. Perhaps the most famous French river is the Seine, which rises in Burgundy, flows through Paris, and empties into the English Channel at Le Havre. With its major tributaries, especially the Marne, Oise, and Eure rivers, it drains most of the Paris Basin and upper Normandy and is an important waterway to and from.