Loire (river)

Longest river in France, rising in the Cévennes Mountains in the département of Ardèche at 1,350 m/4,430 ft near Mont Gerbier de Jonc, and flowing for over 1,000 km/620 mi north through Nevers to Orléans, then west through Tours and Nantes until it reaches the Bay of Biscay at St Nazaire. The Loire drains 116,550 sq km/45,000 sq mi of land, more than a fifth of France, and there are many châteaux and vineyards along its banks. The Loire gives its name to the départements of Loire, Haute-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, and Saône-et-Loire.

Its main tributaries include the Nièvre, Maine, and Erdre on the right bank, and the Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne, and Sèvre Nantaise on the left bank. There are four nuclear plants on the Loire.