Maine et Loire

Maine-et-Loire
Department
Prefecture building of the Maine-et-Loire department, in Angers
Coat of arms
Location of Maine-et-Loire in France
Coordinates: 47°27′N 0°36′W / 47.450°N 0.600°W / 47.450; -0.600Coordinates: 47°27′N 0°36′W / 47.450°N 0.600°W / 47.450; -0.600
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Angers
Subprefectures	Cholet Saumur Segré
Government
• President of the General Council	Christophe Béchu (UMP)
Area
• Total	7,172 km2 (2,769 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	800,191
• Rank	27th
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	49
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	21
Communes	186
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Maine-et-Loire (French pronunciation: ​[mɛn.e.lwaʁ]) is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.

See also: Anjou and History of Maine-et-Loire ()
Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791. It was created from most of the former province of Anjou. Its present name is drawn from the Maine and Loire Rivers, which meet within the department.

Maine-et-Loire is part of the current region of Pays-de-la-Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne, Sarthe, Indre-et-Loire, Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, and Loire-Atlantique.

It has a varied landscape, with forested ranges of hills in the south and north separated by the valley of the Loire. The highest point is Colline des Gardes at 210 m (690 ft).

The area has many navigable rivers such as the Loire, Sarthe, Mayenne, Loir, and Authion.

The inhabitants of Maine-et-Loire have no official qualifier. They are sometimes known as Angevins, from the former province of Anjou, or Mainéligériens, from the name of the département.