Loire

[LWAHR] The meandering region that follows the beautiful Loire River, which begins its nearly 625-mile journey within 30 miles of the rhône region in the southeastern quarter of France. The river flows northward, angling east toward Orleans and then heads in a southwesterly direction toward the Atlantic Ocean. There are over 85,000 vineyard acres and a multitude of different wine areas along the Loire, producing a number of famous wines. In the upper reaches of the Loire, not too far from its beginning, there are several vdqs and ac areas-côte d'auvergne, côte roannaises and Saint-Pourçain-Sur-Sioule. As the river nears Orleans, it passes the famous pouilly-fumé and sancerre appellations, which are known for fresh, crisp white wines made from sauvignon blanc. After Orleans, the river goes by the touraine province, a region that not only makes white wines from Sauvignon Blanc but also includes two famous areas noted for their chenin blanc wines (vouvray and montlouis) and two areas with reputations for the best Loire red wines (chinon and bourgueil). As the river continues to the Atlantic, it passes through anjou, noted for its rosé wines-Rosé d'Anjou and the higher-quality cabernet d'anjou. Finally, as the river nears the ocean, it passes through Nantes where the muscadet grape reigns.

This article is about the French department. For the river, see Loire (river). For the valley, see Loire Valley. For the gun, see Loire Mk.

Loire
Coat of Arms of Loire
Location
Administration
Department number:	42
Region:	Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture:	Saint-Étienne
Subprefectures:	Montbrison Roanne
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	40
Communes:	327
President of the General Council:	Bernard Bonne UMP
Statistics
Population	Ranked 27th
-1999	728,524
Population density:	152/km2
Land area¹:	4781 km2
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2.

Loire (Arpitan: Lêre, Occitan: Léger) is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 See also 5 External links

History

Loire was created in 1793 when the original department of Rhône-et-Loire was split.

Its capitals have been the following:

• Feurs from 1793-1795
• Montbrison from 1795-1855
• Saint-Étienne since 1855

Loire is known for its many Castles

Geography

Loire is part of the current administrative region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, and Saône-et-Loire.

The River Loire traverses the department from south to north.

The Loire department is split into three arrondissements:

• Arrondissement of Montbrison
• Arrondissement of Roanne
• Arrondissement of Saint-Étienne

Loire is the garden of France

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Ligériens.

The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 728,542 inhabitants.

See also

• Rhône-Alpes
• Cantons of the Loire department
• Communes of the Loire department
• Arrondissements of the Loire department

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website

v • d • e Departments of France Ain · Aisne · Allier · Alpes-de-Haute-Provence · Hautes-Alpes · Alpes-Maritimes · Ardèche · Ardennes · Ariège · Aube · Aude · Aveyron · Bouches-du-Rhône · Calvados · Cantal · Charente · Charente-Maritime · Cher · Corrèze · Corse-du-Sud · Haute-Corse · Côte-d'Or · Côtes-d'Armor · Creuse · Dordogne · Doubs · Drôme · Eure · Eure-et-Loir · Finistère · Gard · Haute-Garonne · Gers · Gironde · Hérault · Ille-et-Vilaine · Indre · Indre-et-Loire · Isère · Jura · Landes · Loir-et-Cher · Loire · Haute-Loire · Loire-Atlantique · Loiret · Lot · Lot-et-Garonne · Lozère · Maine-et-Loire · Manche · Marne · Haute-Marne · Mayenne · Meurthe-et-Moselle · Meuse · Morbihan · Moselle · Nièvre · Nord · Oise · Orne · Pas-de-Calais · Puy-de-Dôme · Pyrénées-Atlantiques · Hautes-Pyrénées · Pyrénées-Orientales · Bas-Rhin · Haut-Rhin · Rhône · Haute-Saône · Saône-et-Loire · Sarthe · Savoie · Haute-Savoie · Paris · Seine-Maritime · Seine-et-Marne · Yvelines · Deux-Sèvres · Somme · Tarn · Tarn-et-Garonne · Var · Vaucluse · Vendée · Vienne · Haute-Vienne · Vosges · Yonne · Territoire de Belfort · Essonne · Hauts-de-Seine · Seine-Saint-Denis · Val-de-Marne · Val-d'Oise Overseas departments: French Guiana · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Réunion

Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083

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