Indre (department)

Indre is a department in the centre of France in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It is named after the Indre river, the most important river in the department.

Its prefecture is Châteauroux.

History
The department is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. The department was created from part of the former province of Berry.

The new department had six  districts: Issoudun, Châteauroux, Argenton, Le Blanc, La Châtre and Marennes. The capital (now prefecture) was Châteauroux.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into four arrondissements: Saintes, Châteauroux, Le Blanc, La Châtre and Issoudun.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Issoudun was eliminated but in 1942 it was made again an arrondissement.

Geography
Indre is part of the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has an area of .

The highest point of the department is Terrior Randoin (), in the commune of Pouligny-Notre-Dame, and that is   above sea level.

The department is bordered by the 6 departments in 2 regions:
 Centre-Val de Loire region
 Loir-et-Cher
 Cher
 Indre-et-Loire
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
 Creuse
 Vienne
 Haute-Vienne

The main rivers are:
 Creuse, a tributary of the Vienne, is  long.
 Claise,  long and a tributary of the Creuse.
 Indre, that flows centrally through the department from south to north, through the major towns of La Châtre, Châteauroux and Loches. It is a tributary of the Loire, joining it at Chinon in the neighbouring department of Loir-et-Cher.

Climate 
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Châteauroux is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype Cfb.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Châteauroux is . The month with the most precipitation on average is May with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Châteauroux is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

Administration
The department is managed by the Departmental Council of the Indre in Châteauroux. Indre is part of the region of Centre-Val de Loire.

Administrative divisions
There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 13 cantons and 243 communes (municipalities) in Indre.

The following is a list of the 13 cantons of the Indre department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

 Ardentes (3601)
 Argenton-sur-Creuse (3602)
 Le Blanc (3603)
 Buzançais (3604)
 Châteauroux-1 (3605)
 Châteauroux-2 (3606)
 Châteauroux-3 (3607)
 La Châtre (3608)
 Issoudun (3609)
 Levroux (3610)
 Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre (3611)
 Saint-Gaultier (3612)
 Valençay (3613)

Demographics
The inhabitants of Indre are known, in French, as Indriens (women: Indriennes).

Indre has a population, in 2014, of 226,175, for a population density of  inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Châteauroux, with 126,428 inhabitants, is by far the largest.

Evolution of the population in Indre

The main cities in the department are:

Gallery

References

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Indre department
 Communes of the Indre department

Other websites

 Departmental Council website 
 Prefecture website 
 Indre Nature 

Departments in Centre-Val de Loire
1790 establishments