Loire River
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Loire_river_DSC02485.jpg
The Loire River (pronounced in French), the longest river in France with a length of just over 1000 km, drains an area of 117,000 km², more than a fifth of France.
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Origin of the name
The name "Loire" comes from Latin Liger, which is itself a transcription of the native Gaulish (Celtic) name of the river. The Gaulish name of the river comes from the Gaulish word liga, which means "silt, sediment, deposit, alluvium", and which gave French lie, which in turn gave English lees. Liga comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *legh-, meaning "to lie, lay", which gave many words in English, such as to lie, to lay, ledge, law, etc.
In French the adjective derived from the river is ligérien, as in le climat ligérien ("the climate of the Loire Valley"), a climate considered the most pleasant of northern France, with warmer winters and, more generally, fewer extremes in temperatures than in more continental climates.
Geography
Originating in the north-eastern part of the southern Cévennes highlands, it flows roughly northward through Roanne and Nevers to Orléans and thereafter westward through Tours to the Atlantic at Nantes. The river's irregularity has sometimes resulted in serious flooding, notably in 1856, 1866 and 1910.
The Loire is the last free-flowing river in Europe. Unlike any other river in western Europe, other than in the far north, there are no dams or locks creating obstacles to its natural flow. As a result, the Loire is a very popular river for boating excusions, flowing through a pastoral countryside, past limestone cliffs and storybook castles.
Tributaries
See also
External links
- Tourist Office Board Loire Valley (http://www.visaloire.com/accueil.php?lang=en)
- Centre-Val-de-Loire (http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Provinces/Centre.shtml)
- Pays de la Loire (http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Provinces/Pays-Loire.shtml)
- Waterways in France (http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/DF_waterways.shtml)
- Loire River (http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/L/LoireRiv.html)de:Loire
es:Loira eo:Luaro fr:Loire (fleuve) lb:Loire (Floss) nl:Loire (rivier) pl:Loara pt:Rio Loire sv:Loire (flod)