Loire-Atlantique
French department
Loire-Atlantique is a department in France. It is in the Pays de la Loire region. Its capital is Nantes, which is also the region's capital. The department gets its name from the river which goes through it (la Loire), and because it is next to the Atlantic Ocean.
Loire-Atlantique
Liger-Atlantel (Breton) | |
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![]() Prefecture building in Nantes | |
![]() Location of Loire-Atlantique in France | |
Coordinates: 47°20′N 1°40′W / 47.333°N 1.667°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Pays de la Loire |
Prefecture | Nantes |
Subprefectures | Châteaubriant Saint-Nazaire |
Government | |
• President of the Departmental Council | Michel Menard[1] (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 6,881 km2 (2,657 sq mi) |
Population (Jan. 2019)[2] | |
• Total | 1,429,272 |
• Rank | 9th |
• Density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 44 |
Arrondissements | 3 |
Cantons | 31 |
Communes | 207 |
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
History
changeLoire Atlantique is one of the first 83 departments of France created in 1790. It used to be called Loire-Inférieure. It got its new name in 1957.
The department was part of Brittany until 1941 when the Vichy Governement separated it. Many people still think it is Brittany's capital. Some want it to be part of Brittany again.
Geography
changeLoire-Atlantique is next to 4 departements:
West of it is the Atlantic Ocean.
References
change- ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
- ↑ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2020.
Other websites
changeMedia related to Loire-Atlantique at Wikimedia Commons
- Loire-Atlantique essential information in English from FrenchEntrée
- Prefecture website (in French)
- General council website Archived 2005-12-17 at the Wayback Machine (in French)