MAINE-ET-LOIRE

dpartement, Pays de la Loire region, western France, created from the major part of the historic province of Anjou and a fragment of Touraine. Its 2,753-sq-mi (7,131-sq-km) area is bisected eastwest by the Loire River, which is joined by the Maine River 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Angers (q.v.), its capital. Of the 12 principal rivers, 9 are navigable. The highest point, 630 ft (210 m), is near Cholet in the Mauges region. The dpartement, essentially agricultural, has moderate rainfall at all seasons and particularly mild winters. The Loire Valley, known in the dpartement as the Val d'Anjou, is a broad, fertile plain covered with market gardens, orchards, and vineyards. In the Mauges cattle-raising region in the southwest, the once flourishing cultivation of hemp has practically disappeared. In the Segr area in the west, high-grade iron ore is mined, cider apples are cultivated, and grains are grown. Cattle raising predominates in the northeast around the ancient town of Baug. The slate quarries extending from the west to the Angers region, particularly Trlaz, account for much of France's slate production. The Ross d'Anjou and the sparkling Saumur wines are among the better known vintages of the dpartement. Angers and Saumur on the Loire are popular tourist centres. The recumbent statues of Henry II of England, his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their son Richard I the Lion-Heart, all of whom are buried in the 12th-century Fontevrault abbey near Saumur, are of particular interest. The church of Cunault northwest of Saumur is a fine example of medieval architecture. The dpartement has four arrondissementsAngers, Cholet, Saumur, and Segr. Pop. (1982) 675,321.