INDRE-ET-LOIRE

dpartement, Centre region, west-central France. Indre-et-Loire occupies most of the historic province of Touraine (q.v.) and fragments of Orlanais and Anjou and is known as the Garden of France. It is crossed by the Loire River, which flows through Tours (q.v.), the departmental capital, and is joined from the southeast by the Cher, Indre, and Vienne rivers. The contrast is striking between the fertile valleys and the sparsely wooded plateaus that separate them, especially in the Gtine de Touraine between the Loire and Loir rivers. The climate is temperate, with warm summers and mild winters. The valleys, displaying lush pastures, orchards, vineyards, and market gardens, abound with France's most famous chteaus, among them Amboise, Chenonceaux, Loches, Azay-le-Rideau, Chinon, and Langeais (qq.v.). Tours is the centre of tourism for the chteau country. The vineyards produce such well-known wines as Vouvray, Bourgueil, and Montlouis. Industry (chemical, pharmaceutical, electrical) has developed in the Tours region, and, indeed, overdeveloped to the point that planning for the Tours region emphasizes decentralization. A nuclear power station is located in Avoine. The dpartement has three arrondissementsTours, Chinon, and Lochesand is in the educational divisions of Orlans and Poitiers. Area 2,366 square miles (6,127 square km). Pop. (1982) 506,097; (1993 est.) 538,600.