Haute-Loire

**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.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|431|Brioude|Brioude|45,848|1,886.8||111|
|432|Le Puy-en-Velay|Le Puy-en-Velay|96,041|1,930.7||102|
|433|Yssingeaux|Yssingeaux|84,676|1,159.7||44|

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:

1. Aurec-sur-Loire <small>(4301)</small>
1. Bas-en-Basset <small>(4302)</small>
1. Boutières <small>(4303)</small>
1. Brioude <small>(4304)</small>
1. Deux Rivières et Vallées <small>(4305)</small>
1. Emblavez-et-Meygal <small>(4306)</small>
1. Gorges de l'Allier-Gévaudan <small>(4307)</small>
1. Mézenc <small>(4308)</small>
1. Monistrol-sur-Loire <small>(4309)</small>
1. Pays de Lafayette <small>(4310)</small>
1. Plateau du Haut-Velay granitique <small>(4311)</small>
1. Le Puy-en-Velay-1 <small>(4312)</small>
1. Le Puy-en-Velay-2 <small>(4313)</small>
1. Le Puy-en-Velay-3 <small>(4314)</small>
1. Le Puy-en-Velay-4 <small>(4315)</small>
1. Saint-Paulien <small>(4316)</small>
1. Sainte-Florine <small>(4317)</small>
1. Velay volcanique <small>(4318)</small>
1. Yssingeaux <small>(4319)</small>

## 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/km<sup>2</sup>. 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:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Le Puy-en-Velay|18,634|Le Puy-en-Velay|
|Monistrol-sur-Loire|8,808|Yssingeaux|
|Yssingeaux|7,105|Yssingeaux|
|Brioude|6,700|Brioude|
|Aurec-sur-Loire|6,035|Yssingeaux|
|Sainte-Sigolène|5,952|Yssingeaux|
|Bas-en-Basset|4,314|Yssingeaux|
|Brives-Charensac|4,153|Le Puy-en-Velay|
|Saint-Just-Malmon|4,153|Yssingeaux|
|Langeac|3,758|Brioude|

## Related pages

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

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Haute-Loire
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image flag**: Drapeau département fr Haute-Loire.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **flag alt**: Flag of Haute-Loire
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Haute-Loire.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Haute-Loire-Position.svg
- **map alt**: Location of Haute-Loire in France
- **map caption**: Location of Haute-Loire in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Le Puy-en-Velay
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Brioude
- **p2**: Yssingeaux
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Jean-Pierre Marcon
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 4977.1
- **population total**: 226565
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Altiligériens
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 19
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 257
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-43
- **website**: [http://www.hauteloire.fr/ www.hauteloire.fr]