Editing Loiret (section)

==Geography==
Loiret is one of six departments in the region [[Centre-Val de Loire]].<ref name="Centre" /> To the north of Loiret lie the departments of [[Eure-et-Loir]], [[Essonne]] and [[Seine-et-Marne]], to the east lies [[Yonne]], to the southeast [[Nièvre]], to the south [[Cher (département)|Cher]], and to the west [[Loir-et-Cher]].<ref name=Philips>{{cite book |title=Philips' Modern School Atlas |year=1973 |publisher=George Philip and Son, Ltd. |isbn=0-540-05278-7 |pages=42–43 }}</ref>

The department consists of mostly flat low-lying land through which flows the river [[Loire]]. This river enters the department near [[Châtillon-sur-Loire]] in the southeast, flows northwestwards to Orleans where it turns to flow south west, leaving the department near [[Beaugency]].<ref name=Philips/> The [[Canal d'Orléans]] connects the Loire at Orléans to a junction with the [[Canal du Loing]] and the [[Canal de Briare]] in the village of [[Buges]] near [[Montargis]]. The Loire and these canals formed important trading routes before the arrival of the railways.<ref>{{cite book | title = Loire Nivernais Waterways Guide 02 | year = 2010 | publisher = Editions Du Breil | isbn = 978-2-913120-00-6}}</ref> The river [[Loiret (river)|Loiret]], after which the department is named, is {{convert|12|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long and joins the Loire southwest of Orléans. Its source is at Orléans-la-Source, and its mouth at [[Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin]]. Other rivers in the department, are the [[Loing]], a right-bank tributary of the Loire, and the [[Ouanne (river)|Ouanne]] which flows into the Loing.<ref name=Philips/>

The department has a total area of {{convert|6757|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}} and is {{convert|119|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from west to east and {{convert|77|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from north to south. Large parts of the land are used for agriculture, and these are separated by low wooded hills and some forested areas.<ref name=Dictionary/> The northwestern part of the department is in the wheat-growing region known as [[Beauce, France|Beauce]], an undulating plateau with some of France's best agricultural land.<ref name="Centre">{{cite web |title=The Centre region of France |url=http://about-france.com/regions/region-centre.htm |access-date=29 July 2024 |publisher=About-France.com}}</ref> This area was popular with the French aristocracy in the [[Middle Ages]] and [[the Renaissance]] period, and there are many historic [[château]]x in the department including [[Château d'Augerville]], [[Château de Bellegarde (Loiret)|Château de Bellegarde]], [[Château de Gien]], [[Château du Hallier]], [[Château de Meung-sur-Loire]], [[Château de Sully-sur-Loire]] and [[Château de Trousse-Barrière]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Mesqui | first = Jean | title = Chateaux-forts et fortifications en France | publisher = Flammarion | year = 1997 | location = Paris | isbn = 2-08-012271-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/chateauxfortsetf00mesq/page/493 493] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/chateauxfortsetf00mesq/page/493 }}</ref>

The part of the department south of the Loire is known as the [[Sologne]] and is an area of heathland and marshland, interspersed by hills where vines are grown.<ref name=Dictionary>{{cite book|title=Comprehensive Dictionary of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTfu1nRKGq4C&pg=PA612 |year=1992 |publisher=Mittal Publications |page=612 |id=GGKEY:RC6C27C4NE1}}</ref> The eastern part of the department is known as [[Gâtinais]] and was part of a province of that name. Until the beginning of the 21st century, it used to be renowned for the production of [[saffron]], but the crop could not be mechanised, and production dwindled as the cost of production became too high.<ref>{{cite book|author=Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne |title=A History of Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QmevzbQ0AsIC&pg=PA469|year=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-0514-2 |page=469}}</ref>