French Prealps
Encyclopedia
The French Prealps are a group of subalpine
mountain range
s of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps
. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva
southwest to the Isère
and Drôme River
s; east to a line running from Chamonix
, to Albertville
, to Grenoble
, to Gap, to Barcelonette; and south from Grasse
to Vence
in France
.
In the northern subalpine
regions, the various ranges are easily identifiable by geographical separations, such as the Voreppe Gorge
between Vercors and Chartreuse, or Chambéry
, which sits in a valley between the Bauges and Chartreuse ranges. In the southern subalpine regions, the ranges are generally disorganized and lack the wide, deep valleys that divide them in the north.
Three non-contiguous ranges traditionally comprise the southern French Prealps – the Alpilles
, Mont Sainte-Victoire, and Sainte-Baume
– however, they are excluded by SOIUSA ("Unified International Orthography of the Alpine System").
Among the best known peaks in the French Prealps are:
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
southwest to the Isère
Isère River
The Isère is a 286 km long river in southeastern France, in the Rhône-Alpes région. Its source is in the Alps on the border with Italy, near the ski resort Val d'Isère. It flows into the Rhône River in Pont-de-l'Isère, a few km north of Valence...
and Drôme River
Drôme River
The Drôme , a river in southeastern France, has a length of 110 km long and forms a left tributary of the Rhône River. Its source is in the western foothills of the Alps, near the village Valdrôme...
s; east to a line running from Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
, to Albertville
Albertville
Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The town is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics.-Geography:...
, to Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, to Gap, to Barcelonette; and south from Grasse
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
to Vence
Vence
Vence is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France between Nice and Antibes.-Population:-Sights:...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In the northern subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
regions, the various ranges are easily identifiable by geographical separations, such as the Voreppe Gorge
Voreppe
Voreppe is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....
between Vercors and Chartreuse, or Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, which sits in a valley between the Bauges and Chartreuse ranges. In the southern subalpine regions, the ranges are generally disorganized and lack the wide, deep valleys that divide them in the north.
Three non-contiguous ranges traditionally comprise the southern French Prealps – the Alpilles
Alpilles
The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon at approximately .-Geography:The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range...
, Mont Sainte-Victoire, and Sainte-Baume
Sainte-Baume
The Sainte-Baume is a mountain ridge spreading between the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône and Var in southern France...
– however, they are excluded by SOIUSA ("Unified International Orthography of the Alpine System").
Ranges and peaks
| Chain | Range | Highest Summit | Elevation (m/ft) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savoy Prealps | Haut-Giffre Massif | Haute Cime | 3257 metres (10,686 ft) | Highest summit in the French Prealps |
| Savoy Prealps | Aiguilles Rouges Aiguilles Rouges The Aiguilles Rouges are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc massif. The color of the iron rich gneiss mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Aiguille du Belvédère at... |
Aiguille du Belvédère | 2965 metres (9,728 ft) | |
| Savoy Prealps | Chablais Alps Chablais Alps The Chablais Alps are a mountain range in the western Alps. They are situated between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc Massif. The Col des Montets separates them from the Mont Blanc Massif in the south, and the Rhône valley separates them from the Bernese Alps in the east.The Chablais Alps are... |
Hauts-Forts | 2464 metres (8,084 ft) | Peak on French side of the range |
| Savoy Prealps | Bornes | Pointe Blanche | 2438 metres (7,999 ft) | |
| Savoy Prealps | Aravis Range Aravis Range The Aravis is a mountain range in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, eastern France. It is part of the French Prealps, a lower chain of mountain ranges west of the main chain of the Alps. Its highest summit is the Pointe Percée, at 2752m. The orientation of the Aravis is north-south, and it stretches from... |
Pointe Percée Pointe Percée The Pointe Percée is the highest mountain in the Aravis range in Haute-Savoie. It rises to 2752 meters and has 1643 m of prominence, and thus is classified as an ultra prominent peak. Its first documented climb was by M. L. Maquelin of Geneva in 1865, though likely climbed much earlier.... |
2750 metres (9,022 ft) | |
| Savoy Prealps | Bauges Bauges The Bauges Mountains is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy to the city of Chambéry, which is part of the French Prealps.- Major peaks :The Bauges have 14 summits above :... |
Arcalod | 2217 metres (7,274 ft) | |
| Savoy Prealps | Chartreuse Mountains Chartreuse Mountains The Chartreuse Mountains is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching to the north from the city of Grenoble to the Lac du Bourget. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps.... |
Chamechaude Chamechaude Chamechaude is the highest summit in the Chartreuse Massif in the Isère department in eastern France. It is the fourth most prominent mountain in metropolitan France.... |
2082 metres (6,831 ft) | |
| Dauphiné Prealps | Vercors Plateau Vercors Plateau The Vercors is a range of plateaux and mountains in the départements of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Drac and Isère... |
Grand Veymont | 2341 metres (7,680 ft) | also called the French Dolomites |
| Dauphiné Prealps | Diois Mountains | Mont Jocou | 2051 metres (6,729 ft) | |
| Dauphiné Prealps | Dévoluy Mountains | Grande Tête de l'Obiou | 2789 metres (9,150 ft) | |
| Provence Prealps | Bochaine | Mont Céüse | 2016 metres (6,614 ft) | also called the Pays du Buëch |
| Provence Prealps | Digne Prealps | Les Monges | 2115 metres (6,939 ft) | |
| Provence Prealps | Baronnies Baronnies The Baronnies, in French Les Baronnies is a historic name for the area East and North of Mont Ventoux in Southern France.Today most of the Baronnies is part of the département Drôme... |
Mont Mare | 1603 metres (5,259 ft) | |
| Provence Prealps | Vaucluse Mountains | Signal de Saint-Pierre | 1256 metres (4,121 ft) | |
| Provence Prealps | Luberon Mountains Luberon The Luberon or Luberon Massif , also called Lubéron, has a maximum altitude of 1,256 m and an area of about 600 km²... |
Mourre Nègre | 1125 metres (3,691 ft) | |
| Maritime Prealps | Castellan Prealps | Puy de Rent | 1996 metres (6,549 ft) | also called the Grasse Prealps |
| Maritime Prealps | Nice Prealps | Pointe des Trois Communes | 2080 metres (6,824 ft) | Highest point on the Authion Massif |
| Non-contiguous | Alpilles Alpilles The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon at approximately .-Geography:The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range... |
Tour des Opies | 387 metres (1,270 ft) | Traditional southern range |
| Non-contiguous | Mont Sainte-Victoire | Pic des Mouches | 1011 metres (3,317 ft) | Traditional southern range |
| Non-contiguous | Sainte-Baume Sainte-Baume The Sainte-Baume is a mountain ridge spreading between the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône and Var in southern France... |
Joug de l'Aigle | 1148 metres (3,766 ft) | Traditional southern range |
Among the best known peaks in the French Prealps are:
- Mont VentouxMont VentouxMont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20 km northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the Drôme département. It is the largest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald...
, near CarpentrasCarpentrasCarpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It stands on the banks of the Auzon...
, VaucluseVaucluseThe Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
, called the "Giant of Provence," 1912 metres (6,273 ft) - Mont AiguilleMont AiguilleMont Aiguille is a mountain in the Vercors Plateau of the French Prealps, located south of Grenoble. It has a flat top, on which a small plane once landed, but is surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. The mountain is most noted for its first ascent in 1492...
, near ChichilianneChichilianneChichilianne is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Isère department*Parc naturel régional du Vercors...
, IsèreIsèreIsère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
, which has a distinctive broad flat top, 2087 metres (6,847 ft)