a department in central France. Area, 5,600 sq km. Population, 153,000 (1972). Administrative center, Guéret. The relief is high (the Marche Plateau, up to 697 m; the Millevaches Plateau, up to 984 m) and dissected by the deep river valleys of the Loire basin (the Creuse and the Cher, for example). The department is an agricultural region, and its population is decreasing (since 1901, by 45 percent). Cattle, swine, and sheep are raised; wheat, barley, potatoes, and forage crops are grown. The Creuse Department has textile (Aubusson) and food industries.
a river in France, a right tributary of the Vienne (Loire system). Length, 267 km; basin area, approximately 10,000 sq km. The Creuse takes its source in the Massif Central, and in the upper reaches it flows in a deep valley, coming out onto a plain below Argenton. The water discharge in the middle course is 32 cu m per sec. There is a hydroelectric power station on the Creuse. The river is navigable for 8 km from its mouth.