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 Chateauroux.
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, Chateauroux, Argenton, Le Blanc, La Chatre and Marennes. The capital (now prefecture) was Chateauroux.
In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into four arrondissements: Saintes, Chateauroux, Le Blanc, La Chatre 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 Chatre, Chateauroux and Loches. It is a tributary of the Loire, joining it at Chinon in the neighbouring department of Loir-et-Cher.
Climate
The Koppen climate classification type for the climate at Chateauroux 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 Chateauroux 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 Chateauroux 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 Chateauroux. 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)
Buzancais (3604)
Chateauroux-1 (3605)
Chateauroux-2 (3606)
Chateauroux-3 (3607)
La Chatre (3608)
Issoudun (3609)
Levroux (3610)
Neuvy-Saint-Sepulchre (3611)
Saint-Gaultier (3612)
Valencay (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 Chateauroux, 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
Indre
1790 establishments