Haute-Loire () is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. It is named after the Loire river.

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. The new department was formed with territories of three historic provinces: the Languedoc, the Auvergne and the Lyonnais.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the three districts were changed into three arrondissements: Le Puy, Brioude and Yssingeaux.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Yssingeaux was eliminated but became again an arrondissement in 1942.

On 18 March 1988, the name of Le Puy was changed to Le Puy-en-Velay.

Geography
The Haute-Loire is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of .

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 (); it is  high. 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.

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.

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:

 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).

Haute-Loire had a population, in 2014, of 226,565, for a population density of  inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Le Puy-en-Velay, with 96,041 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Haute-Loire

The communes in the department with more inhabitants are:

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Haute-Loire department
 Communes of the Haute-Loire department

References

Other websites

 Departmental Council website 
 Prefecture website 

Haute-Loire