The Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a river in central France. It is a left tributary of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) 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 ...

. Its source is in the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

, in the

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

department, east of Mende. It flows generally north. It joins the Loire west of the city of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .

Departments and towns

The Allier flows through the following departments, and along the following towns: * Allier: Moulins,

Varennes-sur-Allier Varennes-sur-Allier (, literally ''Varennes on Allier''; oc, Varenas) is a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. History In 52 BC during the Gallic Wars lived by Julius Caesar, Vercingetorix crosse ...

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

Saint-Yorre Saint-Yorre (; oc, Sant Tiorre) is a commune in the Allier department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Auvergne as former region), central France. The locality is renowned for its highly mineralized mineral water Mineral water is water from a miner ...

* Ardèche - the river runs along the border between this department and

* Cher: Mornay-sur-Allier,

Château-sur-Allier Château-sur-Allier () is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 communes of the Allier department of France. Intercommunalitie ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, 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, ...

Brioude Brioude (; Auvergnat: ''Briude'') is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-central France. It lies on the banks of the river Allier, a tributary of the Loire. History At Brioude, the ancient ''Bri ...

, Langeac, Monistrol-d'Allier *

: Langogne, La Bastide-Puylaurent *

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Brassac-les-Mines Brassac-les-Mines (; Auvergnat: ''Braçac'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. It is the seat of the canton of Brassac-les-Mines. Population See also * Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme d ...

, Auzat-sur-Allier, Issoire, Cournon-d'Auvergne, Pont-du-Château, Cournon-d'Auvergne

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Allier are: * Chapeauroux (left side) * Senouire (right side) *

Alagnon The Alagnon (''Alanhon'' in Occitan), also spelled ''Allagnon'', is an river in south-central France. It is a left tributary of the river Allier. Its source is near the village of Laveissière, near the Plomb du Cantal in the Massif Central. T ...

(left side) * Anse * Couze Pavin (left side) * Dore (right side) ** Dolore (left side) * (left side) * Sioule (left side) * Monne (left side) ** Veyre (left side)

Ecology

The Allier is one of the rare places in southern Europe where the freshwater grayling (Thymallus thymallus), known in French as ''ombre des rivières'', occurs in a natural habitat. Grayling like to live in shoals and are sensitive to pollution. In the Allier these fish are more abundant in the stretch between Langogne and

. They are economically important, being appreciated for food and fished for sport.

Gallery

Image:Allier Pont Canal LeGuétin.jpg, The bridge Le Guétin.

References

Rivers of France Rivers of Allier Rivers of Ardèche Rivers of Cher (department) Rivers of Haute-Loire Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Nièvre Rivers of Puy-de-Dôme Rivers of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Rivers of Centre-Val de Loire Rivers of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) {{France-river-stub