Haute-Loire

Haute-Loire () is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. It is named after the Loire river.
History.
The department of Haute-Loire was created on 4 March 1790 with three districts: Le Puy, Brioude and Yssingeaux. The capital was Le Puy. The new department was formed with territories of three historic provinces: the "Languedoc", the "Auvergne" and the "Lyonnais".
In 1800, with the creation of the "arrondissements" in France, the three districts were changed into three "arrondissements": Le Puy, Brioude and Yssingeaux.
On 10 September 1926, the "arrondissement" of Yssingeaux was eliminated but became again an arrondissement in 1942.
On 18 March 1988, the name of Le Puy was changed to Le Puy-en-Velay.
Geography.
The Haute-Loire is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of .
The department is surrounded by 5 departments in 2 regions:
The highest point in the department is "Mont Mézenc" (); it is high. It is in the southeast of the department, on the border with the Ardèche department.
The main rivers in Haute-Loire are: 
Climate.
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Le Puy-en-Velay is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype Cfb.
Administration.
Haute-Loire is managed by the "Departmental Council of Haute-Loire" in Le Puy-en-Velay. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Administrative divisions.
There are 3 "arrondissements" (districts), 19 "cantons" and 257 "communes" (municipalities) in Haute-Loire.
The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Haute-Loire department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
Demographics.
The inhabitants of Haute-Loire are known, in French, as "Altiligériens" (women: "Altiligériennes").
Haute-Loire had a population, in 2014, of 226,565, for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The "arrondissement" of Le Puy-en-Velay, with 96,041 inhabitants, is the "arrondissement" with more inhabitants.
Evolution of the population in Haute-Loire
The "communes" in the department with more inhabitants are: