Forest of Orléans ( French: Forêt d'Orléans) is a French national forest for the most part and makes up 70% of a French

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

, located in the department of

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

in the

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Its former name is "Forêt des Loges".

Geography

Forest of Orléans ranges over 50,000 hectares, including 35,000 hectares which make up the national forest, the remainder being privately owned. It is in fact the largest French national forest. Thirty-five communes take part in it. The forest is surrounded by the

s of Beauce, Gâtinais, and Loire Valley; it extends along the North of Loire river in an arc which is 60 km in length, from

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Gien Gien () is a Communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department in north-central France. Gien is on the river Loire, from Orléans. Gien station has rail connections to Montargis, Nevers and Paris. The town was bought ...

, and 5 to 20 km in width.

Routes and railroads

The national routes 60 and 152 cross the forest of Orléans. It is bordered to the West by the national route 20 and the

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

A10, to the East by national route 7 and Highway A77, and to the North by Highway A19. Two railroads cross the forest, between

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Neuville-aux-Bois via Rebréchien, and between

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Bellegarde via Vennecy and Vitry-aux-Loges. Two

GR footpath The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. They go by the following names: , , , , – generally meaning "long trail" or more literally "great route". T ...

s cross the forest of Orléans, and .

Communes

These communes are partly or entirely in the forest of Orléans: Foretorleanssaran1

Relief and humidity

The forest is more or less flat, the maximum altitude being 177 m and the lowest 107 m, hence an altitude difference of 70 meters across 50 000 hectares. This absence of relief, joined with the impermeability of the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

prevents the natural flow of rainwater and explains the humidity of the terrain and abundance of

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

Flora and fauna

The forest is mixed. Among the species, common oak makes up over the half of the trees. The

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

ous trees are mainly Scots pine, which make up a third. Other than these two species, there are equal amounts of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

, European beech, hazel,

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n black pine, wild apple trees, and lime trees. Many bird species nest in the forest of Orléans. There can be observed

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

s (returned in 1984), booted eagles, short-toed snake eagles, European honey buzzards, hen harriers, European nightjars, black woodpeckers, middle spotted woodpeckers, grey-headed woodpeckers, woodlarks, and Dartford warblers. Others, such as

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. R ...

s and

common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') an ...

s, sojourn in the forest in course of their migration. Numerous other species of animals can be encountered:

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

s, roe deers,

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel Family (biology), family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels". They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s, and common frogs.

Main species gallery

File:Puhtu_tamm.JPG, Common oak (Over the half of all trees) File:Kiefer43452.JPG, Scots pine (Over the third of all trees) File:Fall_Perspective_(2980356105).jpg,

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

File:Brohmer-Berge-Rothemühl-24-10-2009-30.jpg,

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

File:Buchenwald_1.jpg, European beech File:Corylus_avellana_28082006.jpg, Hazel File:Crepuscular_rays_in_the_woods_of_Kasterlee,_Belgium.jpg,

n black pine File:Malus_sylvestris_(villeple)_tre.jpg, Wild apple tree File:Lasdon_Arboretum_-_Tilia_tomentosa_-_IMG_1525.jpg,

Lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...

File:OspreyNASA.jpg,

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

File:AquilaPennata.jpg, Booted eagle File:Circaetus_gallicus_01.JPG, Short-toed snake eagle File:Wespenbussard_European_honey_buzzard_Pernis_apivorus.jpg, European honey buzzard File:Wow2_filtered.jpg, Hen harrier File:Дрімлюга_на_гілці_дерева_(cropped).jpg, European nightjar File:Dryocopus_martius,_Perersberg,_Brasov,_Romania_0_(cropped).jpg, Black woodpecker File:Middle-spotted_Woodpecker_-_HungaryCS4E4424_(16224259449)_(cropped).jpg, Middle spotted woodpecker File:Grey-headed_Woodpecker_-_Italy_S4E5692.jpg, Grey-headed woodpecker File:Lullula_arborea_(Ján_Svetlík).jpg, Woodlark File:Currucarabilarga.JPG, Dartford warbler File:Ardea_alba_-San_Francisco_Bay,_California,_USA_-flying-8-1c.jpg,

Great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. R ...

(Temporary stay in course of migration) File:Common_crane_in_flight_at_Hula_valley.jpg,

Common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') an ...

(Temporary stay in course of migration) File:Cervus_elaphus_Luc_Viatour_6.jpg,

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

File:Chevreuil(brocard)-HAYE_sylvain.jpg, Roe deer File:Feldhase_Schiermonnikoog.JPG,

Hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

File:Kalij_pheasant_Prasanna_Mamidala.jpg,

Pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

File:Ardilla_gris_mexicana.JPG,

Tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel Family (biology), family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels". They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a ...

File:Wildsau_im_wilderlebnispark_daun.jpg,

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

File:Dixi-Rana_temporaria.jpg, Common frog

Classification

An area of 28 ha of the forest of Orléans was designated a natural zone of ecological interest, fauna and flora. It is mainly of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s and is of ornithological interest hence the presence of

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wader, wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Palearctic realm, Eurasia. It has Camouflage#Cryptic coloration in nature, cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with ...

s, and Eurasian hobbies. Furthermore, an area of 36,086 ha of the forest north of

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 ...

was designated a natural zone of ecological interest, fauna and flora. An area of 32,177 ha is under special protection by

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

. It is an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) that hosts

s, booted eagles, middle spotted woodpeckers, and European nightjars.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest of Orléans Forests of France