Loire (department)

Loire
Department

Coat of arms

Location of Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083
Country France
Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture Saint-Étienne
Subprefectures Montbrison
Roanne
Government
 • President of the General Council Bernard Bonne (UMP)
Area1
 • Total 4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 756,715
 • Rank 30th
 • Density 160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number 42
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 21
Communes 326
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Loire (French pronunciation: ​[lwaʁ]; Arpitan: Lêre; Occitan: Léger) is a department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.

History

Loire was created in 1793 when the Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two, about 3½ years after it was created. This was a response to counter-revolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of counter revolutionary activity in the Lyon region.

The departmental capitals throughout its history are as follows:

Geography

Loire is part of the current administrative region of Auvergne-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:

Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.

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.

Tourism

See also

References

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