Rivers of France ...

... I'm beginning a new series of posts about the rivers of France.  I thought that I would start with a 'His and Hers' river whose name everyone will recognise.  Read on ...

There are 95 departments in France, of which 68 are named after rivers representing more than seventy percent. Of all those rivers, two in particular share a name—Le Loir and La Loire—His and Hers rivers!  But that little nicety is not the only difference.  One is a plain old rivier and the other is a fleuve.  Both those words mean river in English, but here in France there is one very important distinction.  A rivier/riviere flows into another river or body of water, such as a lake, whereas a fleuve flows out to a sea or an ocean.

For this the first in a new series of posts, I thought I'd begin with the Le Loir, a rivier.  This river gives its name to two departments, Eure-et-Loir (28) and Loir-et-Cher (41), both of which sit in the Centre-Val de Loire region of the country.  This region is immediately below the Ile-de-France and borders Normandy, Pays Loire and Nouvelle-Acquitaine in the west.

Le Loir rises just north of Illiers-Combray (28) and initially flows east before turning south towards Bonneval and Chateaudun and then south-west to Vendôme, skirts around Chateau-du-Loir and then to La Lude, La Fleche, Durtal and finally joins the river Sarthe just north of Angers.  At 319k (198 miles) in length, it is by no means the longest, fastest or widest of the many rivers in France.  But it's kind of important because of its history and its association with its sister river, La Loire.  In France, it is essential not to confuse the two even though, for a significant distance, they run roughly parallel to each other, with Le Loir taking the more northerly cut.  Despite its modest length, Le Loir has five tributaries that flow into it and gradually swell its depth and width.

Rivers are formed from a single source of water. That can be a lake or an underground source that breaks through to the surface.  Rivers can also be formed through the run-off of snow or rain, which, if it has enough force, can carry debris that erodes the rock and earth over which it flows and eventually creates a valley.

In this series of posts, I will be taking you along rivers to visit some of the historic places and the fabulous countryside along their courses.

Our first stop on the Le Loir will be Châteaudun.  A substantial and important town with a medieval heart, a fabulous fortress, and some camping companions—see the photo left.

Please join me next week when I will take you through the streets of Chateaudun…