commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
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 ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in central
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It lies in the Gier valley.
The commune was the main town of the former canton of La Grand-Croix, arrondissement of Saint-Étienne.
It lies on the A47 autoroute. Lyon is to the east, and
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
is to the west.
The commune is close to the
Parc Naturel Régional du Pilat
Pilat Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional du Pilat'') is a protected area of mountainous countryside in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. The park spans the departments of Loire and Rhône, and covers a ...
.
The river
Dorlay
The Dorlay () is a river that flows through the Loire department, France. It is a tributary of the Gier, which in turn is a tributary of the Rhône. The Gier valley was formerly heavily industrialized with coal and iron mines and factories.
Basi ...
Mont Pilat
Mont Pilat or the Pilat massif is a mountainous area in the east of the Massif Central of France.
Name
The origin of the name "Pilat" is uncertain.
The word may have a Latin origin (''Mons Pileatus'').
Another legend says that the body of Pontiu ...
, forms the border between La Grand-Croix and Lorette.