The Loire (/lwɑːr/LWAR, US also /luˈɑːr/loo-AR, French:[lwaʁ]; Occitan: Léger[ˈledʒe]; Arpitan: Lêre; Breton: Liger[ˈliːɡɛr]; Latin: Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of 1,006 kilometres (625 mi), it drains 117,054 km (45,195 sq mi), more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.
Covering an area 6,817 square kilometres (2,632 sq mi), Nièvre is landlocked between six other departments: Yonne to the north, Côte-d'Or to the east, Saône-et-Loire to the southeast, Allier to the south, Cher to the west and Loiret to the northwest.