Loire

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Loire
Course of the Loire

Course of the Loire

Data
Water code FR :  ---- 0000
location France , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions , Bourgogne-Franche-Comte , Center-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire
River system Loire
source Massif Central , on Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc
44 ° 50 ′ 18 ″  N , 4 ° 13 ′ 33 ″  E
Source height approx.  1400  m
muzzle at Saint-Nazaire in the Atlantic Ocean Coordinates: 47 ° 17 '3 "  N , 2 ° 10' 23"  W 47 ° 17 '3 "  N , 2 ° 10' 23"  W
Mouth height approx.  0  m
Height difference approx. 1400 m
Bottom slope approx. 1.4 ‰
length 1004 km
Catchment area 117,480 km²
Drain at the Saint-Nazaire gauge MQ
 930 m³ / s
Reservoirs flowed through Lac de Villerest
Big cities Orléans , Tours , Angers , Nantes
Medium-sized cities Roanne , Nevers , Blois , Saumur , Saint-Nazaire
Navigable from the estuary to Bouchemaine
The Loire at Bréhémont

The Loire at Bréhémont

The Loire [ lwaːʁ ] ( Latin Lĭgĕr , Occitan Léger , Breton Liger , outdated German Liger ) is the largest of the rivers in France that flows into the Atlantic with a length of 1004 kilometers . From the Massif Central it flows north and north-west to Orléans , then south-west and west through Tours , Montsoreau , Saumur and Nantes to the confluence at Saint-Nazaire .

Six departments were named after the Loire : Haute-Loire , Loire , Saône-et-Loire , Indre-et-Loire , Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique , as well as the regions Center-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire .

course

The Loire rises in the Massif Central , on Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc . After 2.5 km it meets its first tributary, Aigue Nègre , which has already passed 4 km. The Loire then flows northwards through Roanne to Digoin , from where the Canal du Center connects it with the Saône , a tributary of the Rhône . There it turns to the northwest in the Bourbon Trench , takes its largest tributary Allier shortly after Nevers and reaches Orléans , which geologically belongs to the Paris Basin .

From Orléans to shortly after Blois , the Loire flows in a south-westerly direction, then with deviations to the west. It passes Tours , Saumur and Nantes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Saint-Nazaire in the Bay of Biscay . Below Nantes, the Loire is already exposed to the tides and forms a 30-kilometer-long estuary .

Loire Valley

Due to the length of the river and the significant amount of runoff, the river has a major impact on the design of the Loire Valley and the environmental conditions for its inhabitants. In 1856, 1866 and 1910 floods in the Loire caused great damage. In the upper reaches, the Loire was finally dammed several times at Roanne. In the middle and lower reaches, the Loire is still a free-flowing body of water today; no dams or locks affect their natural course. Due to the large amount of debris that the river transports, it is constantly changing its appearance, sandbanks and river islands are constantly being built up and relocated, but they offer ideal living conditions for flora and fauna . The Loire crosses the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park on its way .

Because of the beauty of the valley, the French nobility preferred to settle here since the beginning of the Renaissance in the 16th century and built magnificent castles on the Loire . During this time, a large part of French politics took place here, so that Paris at times assumed an almost provincial character.

In 2000, the Loire Valley between the cities of Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . Decisive were the rich architectural heritage, especially the numerous castles, and the two thousand year old development of the Loire Valley as a cultural landscape.

Castles of the Loire

The mesoclimate formed by the river favors the agricultural use of the Loire Valley. Of particular importance are the wine-growing areas on the river, which are grouped under the umbrella brand of the Val de Loire wine-growing area .

The inhabitants of the Loire Valley are called Ligériens , derived from Liger , the Latin name of the river. They celebrate the Festival de Loire every two years (in odd years) in Orléans and other participating locations .

Estuary of the Loire at Saint-Nazaire

shipping

In the past, the Loire was an important axis for shipping and freight traffic, today it can only be used by larger ships from the estuary to Nantes . Above Nantes to the confluence of the Maine , at Bouchemaine , it is used by excursion boats, in the rest of the course you can only find fishermen and water sports enthusiasts . Because of its restricted navigability , the Loire is accompanied by navigable canals : the Canal de Roanne à Digoin between Roanne and Digoin and the Canal latéral à la Loire (German: Loire Lateral Canal ) between Digoin and Briare . A river cruise ship has been cruising the Loire between Saint-Nazaire and Angers since April 2015 . The new building, which was laid on keel in 2014, is equipped with a side-wheel drive so that it can sail despite the shallow water.

Economic use

Many industrial companies that use hydropower and transport facilities on and around the Loire have settled in the urban centers.

There are four nuclear power plants along the Loire , operated by the French company Électricité de France (EDF): Belleville , Dampierre , Saint-Laurent and Chinon . They use the river to cool off.

Tributaries

Major tributaries of the Loire

Explanations for the table:

  • If in a line the indication of the confluence side (“right” / “left”) has been moved under the name box of a line above, the body of water shown in the bottom line flows into the one shown in the above line.
  • If in the line under an inflow of a tributary an inflow of a next higher-ranking river is listed, the associated page number is accordingly further up under the beginning of the name box of the higher-ranking river.
  • Arrows point downstream and mark the upper parts of a previously mentioned river course.
The Loire, its tributaries and their main tributaries, order upstream
Mouth in the
direction of flow
seen from		 Surname Code
SANDRE		 Length
[km] 		Catchment
area
[km²] 		Mean
discharge
[m³ / s]
Loire ---- 0000 1.006 117,356 931
Left Acheneau from Lac de Grand-Lieu , there: M8-0270 28.8 700 ?
Left Boulogne M8-0260 86.5 470 ?
right Ognon M8205000 48.4 185 ?
Left Sèvre Nantaise M7-0240 141.8 2,360 24.7
Left Maine M74-0300 68.4 679 5.6
right Erdre M63-0300 97.4 472 2.7
Left Layon M5-0200 89.9 950 4.0
right Maine from the confluence of: M4-0190 11.5 22,350 or 23,314? 127
right Mayenne M --- 0090 202.3 5,820 50
right Oudon M3-0180 103.2 1,480 9.0
Left Sarthe M --- 0060 313.9 16,374 or 22,185? 80-85
Left Loir M1-0160 317.4 8,294 32.2
Left Huisne M0-0150 164.4 2,404 13.1
right Authion L9-0220 99.8 1,400 ?
Left Thouet L8-0210 142.5 3,396 17th
right Dive L85-0300 73.7 850 24.9
Left Vienne L --- 0060 363.2 21,161 210
right Creuse L --- 0070 263.6 10,279 85
right Claise L6-0200 87.6 1,123 4.5
Left Gartempe L5-0180 204.6 3,922 38
right Anglin L5-0190 91.3 1,693 12.5
Left Clain L2-0160 144.3 3,217 21.5
Left Indre K7-0260 279.3 3,428 18.7
Left Cher K --- 0090 367.8 13,920 95.9
right Sauldre K6-0250 183.1 2,254 14.6
Left Arnon K6-0240 150.5 2,274 14.4
right Yèvre K5-0230 80.6 2,220 15.5
right Cisse K4-0150 81 1,295 1.5
right Burn K48-0310 54.2 263 1.2
Left Beuvron K4-0220 115.2 2,193 11
Left Cosson K47-0300 96.4 779 4.0
Left Arroux K1-0180 129.4 3,166 34.5
right Nohain K4094000 47.3 530 3.5
Left Vauvise K40-0310 57.7 392 2.8
right Nièvre K19-0300 49.6 630 5.3
Left Allier K --- 0080 420.7 14,310 144
Left Sioule K3-0200 163.4 2,458 25.6
right Dore + over the mouth longer: K2-0190 140.5 1,523 20.3
right Dolore K2834000 37.1 70 1.2
Left Alagnon K25-0300 85.9 1,042 11.8
right Senouire K23-0300 63.1 170 1.6
Left Chapeauroux K21-0300 56.1 399 3.4
right Aron K17-0300 103.8 1,600 17.6
Left Alène K17-0310 56 338 4.48
Left Acolin K1-0150 63 384 2.5
right Somme K16-0300 46 ? ?
Left Besbre K15-0300 106.4 762 9.2
Left Vouzance K1414000 41.3 152 0.8
right Arroux K1-0180 129.4 3,166 34.5
Left Bourbince of Canal du Center accompanied K13-0300 82.4 or 83.7 877 7.8
right Oudrache K1374000 48.3 178
right Arconce K11-0320 99.8 599 5.7
right Sornin K10-0300 47 520 7.4
right Rhins K09-0300 59.8 427 5.3
Left Aix K08-0300 49.5 436 3.1
Left Lignon du Forez K07-0320 59 664 8.3
right Coise K06-0330 49.6 350 1.6
Left Mare K06-0310 46.9 245 0.9
right Semène K0567700 45.7 155 1.9
Left Ance K05-0300 77.1 547 4.3
right Lignon du Velay K04-0300 85.1 714 9.8
right Dunières ← Dunerette K0454000 42.1 236 3.2
Left Arzon K03-0300 43.9 156 1.5
Left Borne ← Borne Occidentale K02-0300 48.4 428.7 3.9

photos

See also

Web links

Commons : Loire  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: water hikes on the Loire  - tourist guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Source geoportail.gouv.fr
  2. ↑ estuary geoportail.gouv.fr
  3. ↑ Water information system , Service d'Administration National des Données et Référentiels sur l'Eau (French) ( information ), accessed on November 26, 2011, rounded to full kilometers
  4. ↑ a b hydro.eaufrance.fr (station: M8420010 , option: Synthèse )
  5. ↑ The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / whc.unesco.org
  6. ↑ Festival de Loire (French)
  7. ^ Bonapart.de: paddle wheel river cruiser "Loire Princesse" christened in Nantes. Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Persée: Un pont (?) Antique (?) À Tours / An ancient (?) Bridge (?) At Tours