Rhône-et-Loire was one French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. The department was divided in two departments in 1793: Rhône and Loire. The department of Loire had three districts: Montbrison, Roanne and Saint-Étienne. The capital was Feurs but in 1795 the capital was moved to Montbrison.

With the creation of the arrondissements, the three districts became three arrondissements: Montbrison, Roanne and Saint-Étienne.

After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the department was occupied by troops from Austria from June 1815 to November 1818.

The capital was moved from Montbrison to Saint-Étienne in 1855.

Geography

Loire is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in east-central France, with an area of 4,780.6 km² (1,846 sq mi). From north to south, it is 136 km (85 mi) long but from east to west it is only 50 km (31 mi) wide.

The department borders with 7 other departments in 2 regions:

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
- Saône-et-Loire (north)
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
- Rhône (east)
- Isère (southeast)
- Ardèche (southeast)
- Haute-Loire (south)
- Puy-de-Dôme (west)
- Allier (northwest)

Allier	Saône-et-Loire
Puy-de-Dôme		Rhône
	Loire

	Haute-Loire	Isère Ardèche

The department is in eastern Massif Central and there are several mountain chains; some of the chains and mountains are:

Monts du Forez, to the west of the department. Here is the highest mountain of the department: Pierre-sur-Haute (45°39′10″N 03°48′34″E / 45.65278°N 3.80944°E / 45.65278; 3.80944 (Pierre-sur-Haute)); it is 1,634 m (5,361 ft) high, and is on the border with the Puy-de-Dôme department.
Monts de la Madeleine, to the north of the Monts du Forez and form the limit between the Loire and the Allier departments.
Monts du Lyonnais form the eastern limit of the Loire department.
Pilat, a short chain that is in the Loire department but borders with other 4 departments: Rhône, Isère, Ardèche and Haute-Loire.

The main rivers of Loire are:

Loire, that gives its name to the department and flows through the department from southwest to northeast for a distance of 130 km (81 mi).
Rhône, in the southeast of the department.

Climate

The climate of the Loire department, in the city of Andrézieux-Bouthéon (near Saint-Étienne and where is the Saint-Étienne-Loire Airport), is an oceanic climate, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average temperature for the year in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, at an altitude of 389 m (1,276 ft), is 11.5 °C (52.7 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 3.2 °C (37.8 °F).

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Andrézieux-Bouthéon is 896.6 mm (35.3 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 88.9 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is April with an average of 61.0 mm (2.4 in).

Administration

Loire is part of the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Loire in Saint-Étienne.

Administrative divisions

There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 21 cantons and 326 communes (municipalities) in Loire.

INSEE code	Arrondissement	Capital	Population (2014)	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)	Communes
421	Montbrison	Montbrison	188,635	1,959.5	96.3	136
422	Roanne	Roanne	157,268	1,779.9	88.4	115
423	Saint-Étienne	Saint-Étienne	411,402	1,041.2	395.1	75

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Loire department (with their INSEE codes), in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

Andrézieux-Bouthéon (4201)
Boën-sur-Lignon (4202)
Charlieu (4203)
Le Coteau (4204)
Feurs (4205)
Firminy (4206)
Montbrison (4207)
Le Pilat (4208)
Renaison (4209)
Rive-de-Gier (4210)
Roanne-1 (4211)
Roanne-2 (4212)
Saint-Chamond (4213)
Saint-Étienne-1 (4214)
Saint-Étienne-2 (4215)
Saint-Étienne-3 (4216)
Saint-Étienne-4 (4217)
Saint-Étienne-5 (4218)
Saint-Étienne-6 (4219)
Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert (4220)
Sorbiers (4221)

Demographics

The inhabitants of Loire are known, in French, as Ligériens (women: Ligériennes). Ligérien comes from Liger, the Latin name of the Loire river.

Loire has a population, in 2014, of 757,305, for a population density of 158.4 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Saint-Étienne, with 411,402 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Montbrison and Roanne, have respectively 188,635 and 157,268 inhabitants.

The city with more people living in it is the capital, Saint-Étienne (170,761 inhabitants). The subprefectures of Roanne and Montbrison have, respectively, 35,200 and 15,689 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Loire

The most important cities in the department are:

City	Population (2014)	Arrondissement
Saint-Étienne	170,761	Saint-Étienne
Roanne	35,200	Roanne
Saint-Chamond	35,097	Saint-Étienne
Firminy	16,931	Saint-Étienne
Montbrison	15,689	Montbrison
Rive-de-Gier	14,730	Saint-Étienne
Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert	14,448	Montbrison
Le Chambon-Feugerolles	12,582	Saint-Étienne
Riorges	10,741	Roanne
Roche-la-Molière	9,925	Saint-Étienne
Andrézieux-Bouthéon	9,876	Montbrison

Gallery

Saint-Étienne.
Château de La Roche, Saint-Priest-la-Roche.
Château de Grangent, Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert.
Church of Champdieu.
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez.

Images for kids

Source
The river port of Roanne
Confluence of the Allier and the Loire
Map of the Loire basin showing the major tributaries
The Loire at Decize
The Loire spanned at Nantes
Loire at Bréhémont, Indre-et-Loire
Greengage blossom
European eel (Anguilla anguilla)
Yellow-bellied toad
Mediterranean gull
Loire Vivante WWF protests in 1989 against the proposed Serre de la Fare dam
A pristine gorge of the Loire
The Loire as it flows through Blois.
The Vikings invading in 879
Château de Montsoreau (1453) is the only Château of the Loire Valley to be built directly in the Loire riverbed.
Orléans
An 1840 poster advertising excursions on the river
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau.
Vineyard in the Loire Valley
Sauvignon blanc is the principal grape of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, found in the Loire Valley.
Amboise on the banks of the Loire
Chateau de Langeais
Château de Blois interior façades in Gothic, Renaissance and Classic styles (from right to left).
Château de Valençay.
Château de Montsoreau
Scène of the Loire, by J. M. W. Turner.
La source de la Loire, by Gustave Courbet.
Portrait of the Loire, by Jean-Max Albert, 1988. Musée de la Loire, Cosne-sur-Loire.
Les Rosiers-sur-Loire by Jean-Jacques Delusse [fr], 1800
The Loire at Montsoreau, J. M. W. Turner, 1832, Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art.

Loire facts for kids

Contents

History