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.

|INSEE code !!Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! style="width:60px;"| Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|361|Le Blanc|Le Blanc|31,821|1,760.8||57|
|362|Châteauroux|Châteauroux|126,428|2,524.3||86|
|363|La Châtre|La Châtre|32,962|1,323.2||51|
|364|Issoudun|Issoudun|34,964|1,182.3||49|

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:

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

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

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Châteauroux|44,479|Châteauroux|
|Issoudun|12,270|Issoudun|
|Déols|7,744|Châteauroux|
|Le Blanc|6,602|Le Blanc|
|Le Poinçonnet|5,880|Châteauroux|
|Argenton-sur-Creuse|5,007|Châteauroux|
|Buzançais|4,473|Châteauroux|
|La Châtre|4,278|La Châtre|
|Ardentes|3,886|Châteauroux|
|Saint-Maur|3,522|Châteauroux|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Indre department
- Communes of the Indre department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website
- Indre Nature

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Indre
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Châteauroux - Préfecture - 1.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Indre department
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Indre department, in Châteauroux
- **image flag**: Drapeau_département_fr_Indre.svg
- **image shield**: Blason_département_fr_Indre.svg
- **shield size**: 75
- **image map**: Indre-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Indre in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Centre-Val de Loire
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Châteauroux
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Le Blanc
- **p2**: La Châtre
- **p3**: Issoudun
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Serge Descout
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6790.6
- **population total**: 226175
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Indriens
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 4
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 13
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 243
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-36
- **website**: [http://www.indre.fr/ Official website]