Geography of Loire (department)

thumb|Coat of arms of Forez Forez (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire département and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme départements. thumb|Map of the Plain of Forez, 1894. The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire département; however, it is pronounced in the western part of the former province, essentially when referring to the correspondent Forez mountains (on the border between Puy-de-Dôme and Loire. The name is derived from the city of Feurs. Franco-Provençal is the language that was historically s

regional natural park of France

protected area in France