Sillon industriel (industrial strip), a term for an industrial zone in French speaking countries, usually referring to an area in Belgium.
Black Country, British equivalent in the Midlands of England around Birmingham.
Traditionally the steelworks of Belgium had been concentrated in the southern half of the country, in Wallonia, close to the historic coal mining areas at the edge of the Rhenish Massif; which in part defined the area that came to be known as the Sillon industriel including the regions of Liege and Hainaut.
It is part of a north-south axis of water transport in Belgium, whereby the north of France (via the Canal du Centre) including Lille and Dunkirk and important waterways in the south of Belgium including the Sambre valley and sillon industriel are linked to the port of Antwerp in the north, via the Brussels-Scheldt Maritime Canal.