Épône () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is situated on the left bank of the River Seine west of Paris. Together with Mézières-sur-Seine and La Falaise, it forms a settlement of around 10,000 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are known as Épônois. The name comes from the Latin Spedona<ref>[http://www.corpusetampois.com/cls-19-cocheris1874dictionnaire.html Hippolyte Cocheris, Dictionnaire des anciens noms des communes de Seine-et-Oise, 1874]</ref> and, according to Daniel Bricon, has no link to Epona the Gaulish goddess of horses and protector of horseriders. Geography Situated in the north west of Yvelines at the confluence of the rivers Mauldre and Seine, Épône is located in the Mantois at around 10 kilometres to the east of Mantes-la-Jolie and 36 kilometres north west of Versailles. The commune is bordered by Gargenville to the north (on the opposite bank of the Seine), Aubergenville and La Falaise to the east, Maule to the south east, Jumeauville and Goussonville to the south west, and Mézières-sur-Seine to the west. The commune is relatively large, covering 1300 hectares in total. It consists of three main parts. The south: limestone plateaus, at an altitude of around 130 metres, mainly used for growing crops. The hamlet of Vélannes is also found here. The north: the river valley at an altitude of around 20 metres, used for agriculture, and transport links, as well as housing around the railway. Centre: the old town, situated on the hillside around the tenth century church. Climate Épône has a temperate climate of oceanic type that is typical of the Ile-de-France region. The average temperatures vary between 2-5 °C in January to 14-25 °C in July. Annual rainfall is relatively low at around 600 millimetres per year, with October to January the rainiest months. Land usage The majority of the commune is essentially rural (74%), with urban space accounting for around 20% of the total. The town area falls into three main groups; the old walled town, the Vélannes hamlet and the Élisabethville area in the alluvial plain. The urban area is more developed at the eastern end of the commune at the edge of the hamlet of Villeneuve (Mézières), and an additional hamlet of around a dozen homes in the area known as "Canada" at the southern end. Épône includes a part (1500 out of the 4000 inhabitants) of the "garden city" of Élisabethville. Created in the 1920s and named after