west. It originates in the once forested area between Binche and modern Charleroi, near the Sambre. It empties into the Scheldt. From the earliest records, Hainaut also extended south of the Haine to the upper Sambre, the Helpe Majeure, Helpe Mineure and the Avesnois region in the Arrondissement of Avesnes-sur-Helpe.