river in central France, a tributary of the Loire River. It rises in the northwest of the Massif Central and flows north across the Combrailles Plateau through the towns of Montluçon and Saint-Amand-Montrond. Veering northwest through the pastures and woodland west of Bourges, it is joined at Vierzon by the Yèvre River and, a little downstream, by the Arnon. Flowing generally westward, it passes through Chenonceaux, where it is bridged by a historic château. The river passes south of Tours to join the Loire at Cinq-Mars-la-Pile after a course of 217 miles (350 km). Its basin is 5,400 square miles (14,000 square km) in area.