The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st-longest in the world. With a length of 1006 km, it drains 117054 km2, more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.

It rises in the southeastern quarter of the French Massif Central in the Cévennes range (in the department of Ardèche)