The Loire, « the only big wild river » in Europe

Considered by Balzac as « the most beautiful sky in the world above our heads », the Loire abounds with sumptuous landscapes and very rich natural environments throughout its 1,012 kilometers.

Longest river in France, it has its source at Mount Gerbier-de-Jonc in Ardèche and joins the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite several dams and important lateral protections against floods, despite the fact that, very early, it has experienced developments to promote navigation and protect the riparian populations of its legendary floods, the Loire remains a river little developed, considered the « only big wild river » in Europe.

There is only one lock on the course of the Loire.
The latest heavy development projects were abandoned in the early 1990s with the mobilization of environmental protection associations followed by the adoption in January 1994 by the Plan Loire state.
full-scale.

The entire river has been listed as a site of Community importance for the European Natura 2000 network under the two European directives « Birds » and « Habitats », for the protection of its wild fauna and flora, its biodiversity, its its ecosystems as well as places of passage for migratory species.

In April, the Loire, hosts a large colony of birds with high heritage value: terns, trans-Saharan migratory birds, egrets, gray herons, the knight, the little plover.

There is also otter, salmon, pearl mussel.
Its main tributary, the Allier, is still beautifully preserved with a single dam.

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