HAUTE-LOIRE

dpartement, Auvergne rgion, south-central France, created chiefly from the Velay district of the historic province of Languedoc and from a part of eastern Auvergne. With an average elevation of 3,000 feet (900 m), it occupies some of the wildest regions of the Massif Central and contains some of its highest mountains. The upper Loire River, flowing northeastward, waters the eastern half of the dpartement, while the upper Allier River, flowing northwestward, waters its western section. They are divided in the south by the Devs chain and in the north by the Livradois Mountains. Le Puy-en-Velay, the departmental capital and former capital of Velay, lies at an elevation of more than 2,000 feet at the centre of a small, fertile basin. Large areas of the Velay district are covered with lava and volcanic rocks. The Vivarais Mountains, culminating in Mount Mzenc, 5,751 feet (1,753 m), flank the eastern border of the dpartement; and the Margeride Mountains follow the western border, running parallel to the Allier. The climate is rigorous, with long winters and hot summers. The economy is rural, producing cereals, potatoes, fodder crops, and cattle. Lace making survives in Le Puy-en-Velay, a place of pilgrimage and a centre for tourists who visit the dpartement for its magnificent landscape, in which churches and castles crown volcanic peaks and hills. Among the features are the crater lake of Le Bouchet, the gorges of the Loire and the Allier, and the numerous medieval churchesmade of the local volcanic lavas in different colourswhich include Saint-Robert in La Chaise-Dieu, the Basilica of Saint-Julien in Brioude, and two Romanesque churchesSaint-Michel-d'Aiguilhe and Notre-Dame-du-Puy, with its celebrated Black Virginin Le Puy-en-Velay. The dpartement has three arrondissements: Le Puy-en-Velay, Brioude, and Yssingeaux. Area 1,922 square miles (4,977 square km). Pop. (1990) 206,642; (1994 est.) 206,578.