Haute-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, Lozère, Cantal and Puy-de-Dôme. In 2019, it had a population of 227,570; its inhabitants are called Altiligériens in French. The department, which has its prefecture in Le Puy-en-Velay, covers the upper reaches of the Loire and consists of the Loire Valley and the surrounding mountains in the Massif Central.