GRENADINES, a chain of islets in the Windward Islands, West Indies. They stretch for 60 m. between St Vincent and Grenada, following a N.E. to S.W. direction, and consist of some 600 islets and rocks. Some are a few square miles in extent, others are merely rocky cones projecting from the deep. For purposes of administration they are divided between St Vincent and Grenada. Bequia, the chief island in the St Vincent group, is long and narrow, with an area 6 sq. m. Owing to a lack of water it is only slightly cultivated, but game is plentiful. Admiralty Bay, on the W. side, is a safe and commodious harbour. Carriacou, belonging to Grenada, is the largest of the group, being 7 m. long, 2 m. wide and 13 sq. m. in extent. A ridge of hills, rising to an altitude of 700 ft., traverses the centre from N.E. to S.W.; here admirable building stone is found. There are two good harbours on the west coast, Hillsborough Bay on which stands Hillsborough, the chief town, and Tyrell Bay, farther south. The island is thickly populated, the negro peasantry occupying small lots and working on the _metayer_ system. Excellent oysters are found along the coast, and cotton and cattle are the chief exports. Pop. of the group, mostly on Carriacou (1901) 6497. GRENOBLE, the ancient capital of the Dauphine in S.E. France, and now the chief town of the Isere department, 75 m. by rail from Lyons, 38-1/2 m. from Chambery and 85-1/2 m. from Gap. Pop. (1906), town, 58,641; commune, 73,022. It is one of the most beautifully situated, and also one of the most strongly fortified, cities in Europe. Built at a height of 702 ft. on both banks of the river Isere just above its junction with the Drac, the town occupies a considerable plain at the south-western end of the fertile Graisivaudan valley. To the north rise the mountains of the Grande Chartreuse, to the east the range of Belledonne, and to the south those of Taillefer and the Moucherotte, the higher summits of these ranges being partly covered with snow. From the Jardin de Ville and the quays of the banks of the Isere the summit of Mont Blanc itself is visible. The greater part of the town rises on the left bank of the Isere, which is bordered by broad quays. The older portion has the tortuous and narrow streets usual in towns that have been confined within fortifications, but in modern times these hindrances have been demolished. The newer portion of the town has wide thoroughfares and buildings of the modern French type, solid but not picturesque. The original town (of but small extent) was built on the right bank of the Isere at the southern foot of the Mont Rachais, now covered by a succession of fortresses that rise picturesquely on the slope of that hill to a very considerable height (885 ft. above the town).