Loire (department)

French department

Loire (Occitan: Léger) is a French department in the east-central part of France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and named after the Loire river. Its prefecture is the city of Saint-Étienne.

Loire
Flag of Loire
Coat of arms
Location of Loire in France
Location of Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Département12 August 1793
PrefectureSaint-Étienne
SubprefecturesMontbrison, Roanne
Government
 • PresidentBernard Bonne
Area
 • Total4,780.6 km2 (1,845.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[3]
 • Total757,305
 • Density160/km2 (410/sq mi)
DemonymLigériens
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-42
Arrondissements3
Cantons21
Communes326
Websitehttp://www.loire.fr/

History change

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.[4]

With the creation of the arrondissements, the three districts became three arrondissements: Montbrison, Roanne and Saint-Étienne.[4]

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 change

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).[2] 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:

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

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 change

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).[6]

Administration change

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 change

There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 21 cantons and 326 communes (municipalities) in Loire.[7]

INSEE
code
Arrondissement Capital Population[8]
(2014)
Area[9]
(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:[10]

Demographics change

The inhabitants of Loire are known, in French, as Ligériens (women: Ligériennes).[11] Ligérien comes from Liger, the Latin name of the Loire river.

Loire has a population, in 2014, of 757,305,[3] 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.[8]

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.[8]

Evolution of the population in Loire

The most important cities in the department are:

City Population[8]
(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 change

Related pages change

References change

  1. "Le président du Département" (in French). Département de la Loire. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Département de la Loire (42)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Historique de la Loire". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. ;"Pierre-sur-Haute, France". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. "Andrézieux-Bouthéon, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. "Département de la Loire (42)" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  9. "Département de la Loire (42)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  10. "Décret n° 2014-260 du 26 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département de la Loire" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. "Loire" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 11 October 2017.

Other websites change