Loire, La

   the longest river in France, and the longest surviving "natural" river in western Europe. Length 1020 km. Rising at over 1300 metres in the Cévennes mountains in the department of Ardèche, the Loire flows north as far as Orleans, then westwards to its mouth at Saint Nazaire, on the Atlantic coast just south of Brittany. The Loire is considered a "natural" river, on account of the few human-built restrictions to its natural flow, which varies considerably from season to season. For much of its lower reaches, the Loire is bordered by stone and earth levées, built in the 17th century, and imitated later on the other side of the Atlantic in Louisiana, beside the great Mississippi. Salmon once thrived in this river and its tributary the Allier; they are currently being reintroduced. Once a major waterway, the Loire is only properly navigable today as far as the city of Angers. "La Loire" is also the name of a French department, number 42, capital St. Etienne.