The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the

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

. Its source is in the

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

'' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments''

and

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

. The Erdre meets the

in the city of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. Other towns on the Erdre, going downstream, are Candé,

Riaillé Riaillé (; Gallo: ''Riâlhë'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire-Atlantique ...

, Nort-sur-Erdre and Sucé-sur-Erdre. South of Nort-sur-Erdre, the river flows through reclaimed marshland, and is up to a kilometer wide at the Plaine de Mazerolles near Sucé-sur-Erdre. At the Plaine de la Poupiniere, the Nantes-Brest canal joins the Erdre. The Erdre flows into the Loire via the under , emerging near the main railway station. Its former course is a main road and shopping area, the .

References

External links

* Rivers of France Rivers of Pays de la Loire Rivers of Maine-et-Loire Rivers of Loire-Atlantique {{France-river-stub