Le Râteau is a mountain in 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....

. Located in the Massif des Écrins

Massif des Écrins

The mountains of the Massif des Écrins form the core of the Écrins National Park in France.-Mountains:*Barre des Écrins 4102 m*La Meije 3983 m*Ailefroide 3954 m*Mont Pelvoux 3946 m*Pic Sans Nom 3913 m*Pic Gaspard 3883 m*Le Râteau 3809 m...

, the mountain is 3809 metres (12,496.7 ft) tall.

The mountain overlooks the valley of the Romanche

Romanche

The Romanche is a 78 km long mountain river in southeastern France, right tributary of the Drac . Its source is in the northern part of the Massif des Écrins, Dauphiné Alps. It flows into the Drac in Champ-sur-Drac, south of Grenoble. The road from Grenoble to Briançon over the Col du Lautaret runs...

 river and the village of La Grave

La Grave

La Grave is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.It is a small ski resort in the French Alps, dominated by La Meije . It was the birthplace of Nicolas de Nicolay; adventurer and Geographer Ordinary to Henry II of France....

 to the north. The summit is very close to Meije

Meije

La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère départements. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well-known for its off-piste and extreme skiing possibilities.La Meije is composed of three...

, which is separated by a ridge.

Le Râteau has the appearance of a rake or a comb with several teeth; the English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

translation of le râteau is "the rake". The mountain has two distinct peaks at its ends.