Haute-Loire
French department From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Haute-Loire (Occitan: Naut Léger) is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. It is named after the Loire river.
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History
The department of Haute-Loire was created on 4 March 1790 with three districts: Le Puy, Brioude and Yssingeaux. The capital was Le Puy.[4] The new department was formed with territories of three historic provinces: the Languedoc, the Auvergne and the Lyonnais.[5]
In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the three districts were changed into three arrondissements: Le Puy, Brioude and Yssingeaux.[4]
On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Yssingeaux was eliminated but became again an arrondissement in 1942.[4]
On 18 March 1988, the name of Le Puy was changed to Le Puy-en-Velay.
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Geography
The Haute-Loire is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of 4,977.1 km2 (1,922 sq mi).[2]
The department is surrounded by 5 departments in 2 regions:
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
- Loire (north)
- Puy-de-Dôme (north)
- Ardèche (east)
- Cantal (west)
- Occitanie region
- Lozère (south)
The highest point in the department is Mont Mézenc (44°54′40″N 04°11′27″E); it is 1,753 m (5,751 ft) high.[6] It is in the southeast of the department, on the border with the Ardèche department.
The main rivers in Haute-Loire are:
- Loire, that flows through the eastern part of the department and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. Its Drainage basin covers two-thirds of the eastern part of the department.
- Allier, a tributary of the Loire that flows through the western part of the department.
Climate
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Le Puy-en-Velay is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype Cfb.
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Administration
Haute-Loire is managed by the Departmental Council of Haute-Loire in Le Puy-en-Velay. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Administrative divisions
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 19 cantons and 257 communes (municipalities) in Haute-Loire.[7]
The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Haute-Loire department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[10]
- Aurec-sur-Loire (4301)
- Bas-en-Basset (4302)
- Boutières (4303)
- Brioude (4304)
- Deux Rivières et Vallées (4305)
- Emblavez-et-Meygal (4306)
- Gorges de l'Allier-Gévaudan (4307)
- Mézenc (4308)
- Monistrol-sur-Loire (4309)
- Pays de Lafayette (4310)
- Plateau du Haut-Velay granitique (4311)
- Le Puy-en-Velay-1 (4312)
- Le Puy-en-Velay-2 (4313)
- Le Puy-en-Velay-3 (4314)
- Le Puy-en-Velay-4 (4315)
- Saint-Paulien (4316)
- Sainte-Florine (4317)
- Velay volcanique (4318)
- Yssingeaux (4319)
Demographics
The inhabitants of Haute-Loire are known, in French, as Altiligériens (women: Altiligériennes).[11]
Haute-Loire had a population, in 2014, of 226,565,[3] for a population density of 45.5 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Le Puy-en-Velay, with 96,041 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.[8]
Evolution of the population in Haute-Loire

The communes in the department with more inhabitants are:[8]
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Gallery
- Lavaudieu
- Lavoûte-Chilhac
- Polignac
Related pages
References
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