a maritime department of France, made up in 1790 of a portion of Brittany on the right and of the district of Retz on the left of the Loire, and bounded west by the ocean, north by Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine, east by Maine-et-Loire and south by Vendee. Pop. (1936) Area 2,693 sq.m. The department consists of flat land on each side of the estuary of the Loire, and its surface is varied only by the presence of weak ribs running west-north-west and east south-east and continuing those of Brittany; the northernmost one, on the borders of Ille-et-Vilaine, reaches 377 ft., the Sillon de Bretagne stretching on the right bank of the estuary from Nantes towards the Vilaine hardly exceeds 25o ft. Seaward from the Sillon, and behind St. Nazaire, are peat-bogs including Grande Briere which recently supplied old trees for joiners' work; near the coast are large salt-marshes, with Guerande as a salt refining centre. The district south of the Loire lies equally low; its most salient feature is the lake of Grandlieu, covering 27 sq.m., and surrounded by low and marshy ground, but so shallow (61 ft". at most) that drainage would be comparatively easy. Canals are an important feature of the department, and the Nantes to Brest canal uses the Erdre up to within four m. of Nort, where it crosses to a tributary of the Vilaine. The south side of the Loire estuary has been canalized from Le Pellerin to Paimboeuf, and vessels drawing over 21 ft. can reach Nantes. The climate is equable and drier than that of Brittany. At Nantes the mean annual temperature is the annual rainfall being 25.6 inches.
Horse, mule and cattle raising prospers. Good butter and cheese are produced. Poultry also is reared, and there is a good deal of bee-keeping. Much wheat, oats, buckwheat, potatoes and root crops are grown, also leguminous plants, especially near Nantes. Vines and cider apples are grown. The woods are of oak in the in terior and pine on the coast. Some iron is extracted in the depart
ment. North-west of Ancenis coal is obtained. The granite of the sea-coast and of the Loire up to Nantes is quarried. Steam-engines are built for the navy at Indret, below Nantes; the forges of Basse-Indre are famous for their iron ; and large quantities of lead are smelted at Coueron. There are considerable foundries at Nantes, Chantenay and St. Nazaire, and shipbuilding yards at Nantes and St. Nazaire. Pickles and preserved meats are pre pared at Nantes, sardines cured at Le Croisic, which is the centre of the fishing industry, and in the neighbouring communes, and sugar, brushes, macaroni and similar foods, soap and chemicals are made at Nantes, and paper, sugar and soap at Chantenay. The department is served by State railways, the Orleans company and the Western company. The department is divided into the three arrondissements of Nantes, Chateaubriant and St. Nazaire. There are 46 cantons and 220 communes. The appeal court is at Rennes, where is also the centre of the academie (educational division), to which it belongs. It is in the region of the XI. army corps (Loire. Inf.) (Nantes), and forms the bishopric of Nantes under the archbishop of Tours.
The principal places are Nantes, the capital, St. Nazaire and Chateaubriant. On the west coast the town of Batz, and neigh bouring villages, are inhabited by a small community with a dis tinct costume and dialect, claiming descent from a Saxon or Scandinavian stock. Guerande has well-preserved ramparts and 15th century gates, a church dating from the 12th to the 16th centuries and other old buildings. At St. Philbert-de-Grandlieu there is a church with portions belonging to the beginning of the th century. Clisson has a 13th century castle and a market-hall built of wood. There are many megalithic monuments in the department.