Sarthe
Origin	Perche
Mouth	Maine 47°29′35″N 0°32′34″W / 47.49306°N 0.54278°W / 47.49306; -0.54278 (Maine-Sarthe)Coordinates: 47°29′35″N 0°32′34″W / 47.49306°N 0.54278°W / 47.49306; -0.54278 (Maine-Sarthe)
Basin countries	France
Length	313 km (194 mi)
Source elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Avg. discharge	34 m3/s (1,200 cu ft/s)*
Basin area	7,864 km2 (3,036 sq mi)* *excluding Loir

The Sarthe is a river in western France. Together with the river Mayenne it forms the river Maine, which is a tributary to the river Loire.

Its source is in the Orne département, near Moulins-la-Marche. It flows generally southwest, through the following départements and towns:

• Orne: Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe, Alençon
• Sarthe: Fresnay-sur-Sarthe, Beaumont-sur-Sarthe, Le Mans, Sablé-sur-Sarthe
• Maine-et-Loire: Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe, Tiercé, Angers

A few kilometres after its confluence with the river Loir, it joins the river Mayenne, north of the city Angers. Its two main tributaries are the Evre River and the Huisne River.

The Sarthe at Le Mans

References[link]

• http://www.geoportail.fr
• The Sarthe at the Sandre database

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Sarthe
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Sarthe in France
Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E / 48.283°N 0.217°E / 48.283; 0.217
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Le Mans
Subprefectures	La Flèche Mamers
Government
• President of the General Council	Roland du Luart
Area1
• Total	6,206 km2 (2,396 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	556,946
• Rank	47th
• Density	90/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	72
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	40
Communes	375
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

The Château de Boisclaireau, residence of the Gueroust family, Counts of Boisclaireau, in Sarthe.

Sarthe (French pronunciation: [saʁt]) is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.

History[link]

The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and Mayenne to the west.^[1]

In Roman Times, this province contained the city of Mans, and many of its ruins are still left standing. The Thermal Bathhouse attracts many tourists, as does the Theater of Aubigné-Racan, both located on the outskirts of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

Marin Mersenne, perhaps the most important scientific figure in the early 1600s, was born in the vicinity of Sarthe.

Geography[link]

The department of Sarthe is at the north end of the administrative region of Pays-de-la-Loire. This places it south of Basse-Normandie and on the south edge of the Armorican Massif. It is bordered by the departments of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne.

Approximately 300,000 people, comprising more than half of the department's population, live in Le Mans, its conurbation or the essentially urban communes close by. The rest of the department retains its rural character, however, being dominated economically by agriculture.

The economy, especially in the Le Mans area, received a boost with the arrival of the railways in 1854 and of a TGV connection in 1989. In terms of road connections the A11 autoroute, which reached Le Mans from the east in 1978, also highlights Sarthe's strategic position as the gateway to the French west.

See also[link]

• Cantons of the Sarthe department
• Communes of the Sarthe department
• Arrondissements of the Sarthe department
• Circuit de la Sarthe Race circuit for car races
• Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling) Annual road cycling race

References[link]

External links[link]

• (French) Prefecture
• (French) General Council
• (French) Sarthe information
• (French) Sarthe on Wikitravel