Haute-Loire

Haute-Loire Naut Léger (Occitan)
Department of France
From top to bottom, left to right: Mont Mézenc, prefecture building in Le Puy-en-Velay, St Julien Basilica in Brioude and view of Boën-sur-Lignon
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Haute-Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°0′N 4°0′E / 45.000°N 4.000°E / 45.000; 4.000
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Prefecture	Le Puy-en-Velay
Subprefectures	Brioude Yssingeaux
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Marie-Agnès Petit[1] (LR)
Area 1
• Total	4,977 km2 (1,922 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	227,284
• Rank	87th
• Density	46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	43
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	19
Communes	257
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Haute-Loire (French pronunciation: [ot lwaʁ] ^ⓘ; Occitan: Naut Léger or Naut Leir; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme. In 2019, it had a population of 227,570;^[3] its inhabitants are called Altiligériens in French (English : Altiligerians).

The department, which has its prefecture in Le Puy-en-Velay, covers the upper reaches of the Loire and consists of the Loire Valley and the surrounding mountains in the Massif Central. It is one of the original 83 departments of France created in 1790 during the French Revolution. Parts of the department are included in the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park.