EURE-ET-LOIR

dpartement, Centre rgion, northwestern France, created from parts of the historic provinces of Orlanais and Normandy. Most of the dpartement is situated in the Paris Basin. More than half of its area of 2,270 square miles (5,880 square km) is occupied by the treeless, grain-supporting (corn and wheat) plain of Beauce, interspersed with large villages and isolated farms. The northwest comprises the wooded and grassy Thimerais region, the northeast embraces part of the undulating Hurepoix, and the southwest is occupied by the hilly Perche. The dpartement derives its name from the Eure River, which flows northward through Chartres, its capital, and from the Loir, which flows southward through Chteaudun. One of the main granaries of France, it has an essentially rural population. Its climate is mild and dry. Industry (flour milling, tanning, and the manufacture of agricultural machinery) has been little developed. Historic sites include Chartres, with its world-famous cathedral, begun in the late 12th century and considered one of the finest examples of High Gothic architecture; Dreux, the burial place of the Orlans family; Maintenon, with a fine 14th16th-century chteau presented by Louis XIV to Madame de Maintenon; and the beautiful 16th-century chteau of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, in Anet. The dpartement has four arrondissementsChartres, Dreux, Chteaudun, and Nogent-le-Rotrouand is in the educational division of Orlans. Pop. (1990) 396,073.