Pays de la Loire | History, Geography, & Points of Interest

Pays de la Loire, région of France encompassing the western départements of Mayenne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, Vendée, and Loire-Atlantique. Pays de la Loire ... PaysdelaLoire TableofContents PaysdelaLoire Introduction FastFacts RelatedContent Media Images More Contributors ArticleHistory Home Geography&Travel States&OtherSubdivisions PaysdelaLoire region,France Actions Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Pays-de-la-Loire GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). 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ExternalWebsites CRWFlags-FlagofPaysdelaLoire,France By TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica • EditHistory TableofContents PaysdelaLoirePaysdelaLoire,régionofFranceencompassingthewesterndépartementsofMayenne,Sarthe,Maine-et-Loire,Vendée,andLoire-Atlantique.PaysdelaLoireisboundedbytherégionsofBourgogne-Franche-Comtétothenorthwest,Normandytothenorth,Centretotheeast,andNouvelle-Aquitainetothesouth.TheBayofBiscayintheAtlanticOceanliestothewest.ThecapitalisNantes.Angers:CathedralofSaint-MauriceTheMassifArmoricainextendsintothedépartementsofMayenneandLoire-AtlantiqueandthenorthernfringesofVendéeandMaine-et-Loire.SartheandeasternMaine-et-LoirebelongtotheParisBasin.ThemassifofVendéerisesinthesouth.Twoancientmassifsriseinthenorth,whereelevationsreach1,115feet(340metres)inthepicturesquePerseigneForest.TheLoireRiverflowseasttowestacrosstherégion.OtherimportantwaterwaysincludetheVilane,Erdre,Maine,Mayenne,andSartherivers.Anoceanicclimateprevails.ThepopulationofPaysdelaLoireremainedstaticbetween1851and1946,incontrasttothegeneraltrendofruralpopulationlossinFranceduringthisperiod.Populationhassubsequentlygrown,theresultofbothmigrationalandnaturalincrease.DemographicrecoveryhasfavouredtheLoireRivervalleybetweenSaumurandSaint-Nazaire,particularlythemetropolitanareasofAngersandNantes.RuraldepopulationaccompaniedbyanagingofthepopulationhasdepletedthecountrysideofinlandVendée,northernMaine-et-Loire,andMayenneandSartheoutsideLavalandLeMans.Despitethegrowthoftherégion’surbancentres,muchofPaysdelaLoireretainsaruralcharacter,withasignificantproportionofthepopulationlivinginsmalltownsandvillages.châteauofthedukesofAnjouAnimalhusbandrydominatesagriculture,andtherégionisaleadingproducerofmilk,beef,pork,andpoultry.Dairyfarmingisparticularlyimportantalongtherégion’swesternfringesinMayenneandLoire-Atlantique.FishingportsincludeLaTourballeandLeCroisicinLoire-AtlantiqueandLesSables-d’OlonneinVendée.Soilsintherégiontendtobeacidandheavy,andlimeandfertilizersarewidelyused.ViticultureisconcentratedaroundSaumurandAngersandinLoire-AtlantiquetothesouthofNantes,wheremuscadet,adrywhitewine,isproduced.Cereals(wheat,corn[maize],andbarley)areincreasinglycultivated,especiallyintheeasternpartoftherégion,oftenforuseasanimalfeed.PaysdelaLoirehasadiversifiedindustrialstructure.Foodandbeverageprocessingrepresentsamajorsectorofactivity,reflectingtheimportanceofagriculturalproduction.Certaintraditionalbranchesofindustry(shipbuilding,clothingandshoemanufacturing)arenowindecline,buttheslackhasbeentakenupbythemanufacturingofvehiclesandvehiclecomponentsandplastics.Thedevelopmentofelectronics,robotics,telecommunications,andaeronauticalindustrieshasalsobeenimportant.Employmentintheservicesectorhasgrownrapidly,stimulatedbytherelocationofcertainactivitiesofParis-basedbanksandinsurancecompanies.Themajorurbancentres(Nantes,Angers,LeMans,andSaint-Nazaire)havebenefitedfromthesedevelopments.AnumberofsmallertownssuchasCholet,Laval,andLaRoche-sur-Yonhavealsobecomekeyindustrialcentres. GetaBritannicaPremiumsubscriptionandgainaccesstoexclusivecontent. SubscribeNow ThecoastalareasoftherégionboastanumberofpopulartouristresortssuchasLesSablesd’OlonneinVendée,whichissaidtohaveoneofthefineststretchesofsandinFrance.The17-mile(27-km)stripofcoastsouthoftheLoireestuary,knownasCôtedeJadebecauseofthegreencolourofthesea,isalsodottedwithtouristresorts.Theworld-famousLeMansGrandPrix,anannual24-hoursportscarrace,drawshugecrowdseachyear.TherégionisservedbyaParis-to-Nantesmotorwayandbyhigh-speedtrain(trainàgrandevitesse;TGV). PaysdelaLoirewasoneofthesitesofthecounterrevolutionarypeasantuprisingsknownastheWarsoftheVendée(1793–96).ConscriptionactssparkedthefirstuprisinginVendée,andunrestspreadtoneighbouringdépartements.Area12,387squaremiles(32,082squarekm).Pop.(1999)3,222,061;(2014est.)3,690,659. ThisarticlewasmostrecentlyrevisedandupdatedbyAmyTikkanen.