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LoireFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia(Redirected from Loire River)

Jump to: navigation, searchNot to be confused with the Loir, a tributary of the Sarthe.This article is about the Loire river. For the department, see Loire (department). For other uses, see Loire (disambiguation).Coordinates: 4716'09?N 211'09?ELoireLoireAChamptoceaux.jpgRiver Loire Maine-et-LoireCountry FranceTributaries- left Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne, Svre Nantaise- right Maine, Nivre, ErdreSource Massif Central- location Sainte-Eulalie, Ardche- elevation 1,408 m (4,619 ft) [1]- coordinates 4449'48?N 413'20?EMouth Atlantic Ocean- location Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique- elevation 0 m (0 ft)- coordinates 4716'09?N 211'09?ELength 1,012 km (629 mi) [1]

Basin 117,000 km2 (45,174 sq mi) [1]Discharge for Montjean- average 835.3 m3/s (29,498 cu ft/s) [2]- max 4,150 m3/s (146,600 cu ft/s)- min 60 m3/s (2,119 cu ft/s)Map of France with the Loire highlighted

The Loire (French pronunciation: ?[lwa?]; Occitan: Lger; Breton: Liger) is the longest river in France.[3] With a length of 1,012 kilometres (629 mi), it drainsan area of 117,054 km2 (45,195 sq mi), which represents more than a fifth of France's land area.[1] It is the 170th longest river in the world. It rises in theCvennes in the dpartement of Ardche at 1,350 m (4,430 ft) near Mont Gerbier de Jonc, and flows for over 1,000 km (620 mi) north through Nevers to Orlans, then west

through Tours and Nantes until it reaches the Bay of Biscay at St Nazaire. Its main tributaries include the Maine, Nivre and the Erdre rivers on its right bank,and the Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne, and the Svre Nantaise rivers from the left bank. The Loire gives its name to six dpartements: Loire, Haute-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, and Sane-et-Loire. The central part of theLoire Valley was added to the World Heritage Sites list of UNESCO on December 2, 2000. The banks are characterized by vineyards and chateaux in the Loire Valley.

Historicity of the Loire River valley begins with the earliest Middle Palaeolithic period 4090 ka (thousand years ago), followed by the modern humans (30 ka), succeeded by the Neolithic period (6,000 to 4,500 BC) of the Stone Age and the Gauls, the inhabitants in the Loire during the Iron Age, in the period between 1500

and 500 BC. Gauls made it a major naval trading route by 600 BC, establishing trade with the Greeks on the Mediterranean coast. Gallic rule ended in the valleyin 56 BC with Julius Caesar winning over this territory. Christianity made entry into this valley from 3rd century AD with many saints converting the pagans. It was the time when the wineries also came to be established in the valley.[4]

The Loire Valley has been called the "Garden of France" and is studded with overa thousand chateaux, each with distinct architectural embellishments covering awide range of variations,[5] from the early medieval to the late Renaissance periods.[4] They were originally created as feudal strongholds, over centuries pas

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t, in the strategic divide between southern and northern France; now many are privately owned.[6]Contents

1 Etymology2 History

2.1 Prehistoric period2.2 Ancient Rome and the Vikings2.3 Medieval period2.4 1600present

3 Geography3.1 Tributaries

4 Geology5 Discharge and flood regulation6 Climate7 Flora8 Wildlife

8.1 Plankton8.2 Fish8.3 Amphibians8.4 Avifauna

9 Conservation10 Loire Valley

10.1 Architecture

10.1.1 Chteaux10.2 Wine making11 See also12 References13 Bibliography14 External links

Etymology

The name "Loire" comes from Latin Liger,[7] which is itself a transcription of the native Gaulish (Celtic) name of the river. The Gaulish name comes from the Gaulish word liga, which means "silt, sediment, deposit, alluvium", a word that gave French lie, as in sur lie, which in turn gave English lees. Liga comes from t

he Proto-Indo-European root *legh-, meaning "to lie, lay", which gave many wordsin English, such as to lie, to lay, ledge, law, et