European Fire-Bellied Toad

Lore & Background

The name "Loire" comes from Latin Liger, 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 the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-, meaning "to lie, lay" as in the Welsh word Lleyg, and also which gave many words in English, such as to lie, to lay, ledge, law, etc. The human history of the Loire river valley is thought by some to begin with the Middle Palaeolithic period of 90–40 kya (thousand years ago), followed by modern humans (about 30 kya), succeeded by the Neolithic period (6,000 to 4,500 BC), all of the recent Stone Age in Europe. Then came the Gauls, the local tribes during the Iron Age period of 1500 to 500 BC. They used the Loire as a key trading route by 600 BC, using pack horses to link its trade, such as the metals of the Armorican Massif, with Phoenicia and Ancient Greece via Lyon on the Rhône. Gallic rule ended in the valley in 56 BC when Julius Caesar conquered the adjacent provinces for Rome. Christianity was introduced into this valley from the 3rd century AD, as missionaries (many later recognized as saints), converted the pagans. In this period, settlers established vineyards and began producing wines.

In Their Own Story

The Loire changed its course, due to tectonic deformations, from the original outfall into the English Channel to its new outfall into the Atlantic Ocean thereby forming today's narrow terrain of gorges, the Loire Valley with alluvium formations and the long stretch of beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. The river can be divided into three main zones: the Upper Loire, the area from the source to the confluence with the Allier; the middle Loire Valley, the area from the Allier to the confluence with the Maine, about 280 km (170 mi); the Lower Loire, the area from Maine to the estuary. In the upper basin the river flows through a narrow, incised valley, marked by gorges and forests on the edges and a distinct low population. In the intermediate section, the alluvial plain broadens and the river meanders and forks into multiple channels. River flow is particularly high in the river area near Roanne and Vichy up to the confluence with the Allier. In the middle section of the river in the Loire Valley, numerous dikes built between the 12th and 19th century exist, providing mitigation against flooding. In this section the river is relatively straight, except for the area near Orléans, and numerous sand banks and islands exist. The lower course of the river is characterized by wetlands and fens, which are of major importance to conservation, given that they form unique habitats for migratory birds.

Reader's Guide

The Loire flows roughly northward through Roanne and Nevers to Orléans and thereafter westward through Tours to Nantes, where it forms an estuary. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean at 47°16′44″N 2°10′19″W between Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, connected by a bridge over the river near its mouth. Several départements of France were named after the Loire. The Loire flows through the following départements and towns: Ardèche, Haute-Loire (Le Puy-en-Velay), Loire (Feurs, Roanne), Saône-et-Loire (Digoin), Allier, Nièvre (Decize, Nevers, La Charité-sur-Loire, Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire), Cher (Sancerre), Loiret (Briare, Gien, Orléans), Loir-et-Cher (Blois), Indre-et-Loire (Amboise, Tours), Maine-et-Loire (Montsoreau, Saumur), Loire-Atlantique (Ancenis, Nantes, Saint-Nazaire). The Loire Valley in the Loire river basin, is a 300 km (190 mi) stretch in the western reach of the river starting with Orléans and terminating at Nantes, 56 km (35 mi) short of the Loire estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. The tidal stretch of the river extends to a length of 60 km (37 mi) and a width of 3 km (1.9 mi), which has oil refineries, the port of Saint-Nazaire and 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of wetland whose formation is dated to 7500 BC (caused by inundation by sea waters on the northern bank of the estuary), and the beaches of Le Croisic and La Baule along the coastline. Its main tributaries include the rivers Maine, Nièvre and the Erdre on its right bank, and the rivers Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne, and the Sèvre Nantaise on the left bank. The largest tributary of the river is the Allier, 410 km (250 mi) in length, which joins the Loire near the town of Nevers at 46°57′34″N 3°4′44″E. Downstream of Nevers lies the Loire Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its fine assortment of castles. The second-longest tributary, the 372 km (231 mi) Vienne, joins the Loire at Candes-Saint-Martin at 47°12′45″N 0°4′31″E, followed by the 367.5 km (228.4 mi) Cher, which joins the Loire near Cinq-Mars-la-Pile at 47°20′33″N 0°28′49″E and the 287 km (178 mi) Indre, which joins the Loire near Néman at 47°14′2″N 0°11′0″E.

Did You Know?

• The Loire is the longest river in France and the 171st-longest in the world.
• Its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.
• The Loire gives its name to six departments: Loire, Haute-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, and Saône-et-Loire.
• The lower-central swathe of its valley was added to the World Heritage Sites list of UNESCO on December 2, 2000.
• The Loire changed its course from the original outfall into the English Channel to its new outfall into the Atlantic Ocean due to tectonic deformations.