Chartreuse Mountains

For other uses, see Chartreuse.
The Charmant Som and Chamechaude from the Col de la Grande Vache
Map of the Chartreuse massif.

The Chartreuse Mountains (French: massif de la Chartreuse, French: [ʃaʁ.tʁøːz]) is a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble south to the Lac du Bourget north. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps.

One of the larger cities in the Chartreuse Mountains is Voiron (Isère).

The monastic Carthusian Order takes its name from these mountains, where its first hermitage was founded in 1084. Also derived from the mountain range's name is that of the alcoholic cordial Chartreuse produced by the monks since the 1740s, and of the chartreuse colour, named after the drink.

Geography

The mountain range rises between Grenoble (south), Chambéry (north), Voiron and Saint-Laurent-du-Pont (west) and Grésivaudan (Isère valley, east)

Main summits

Summits of the Chartreuse Mountains include:

Main passes

Passes of the Chartreuse Mountains include :

With road

Without road

Main canyons

Canyons of the Chartreuse Mountains include :

Main trays

Trays of the Chartreuse Mountains include :

Main karst areas

Karst areas of the Chartreuse include :

Panorama of the Grésivaudan Valley and the Chartreuse Mountains from Les Sept Laux.

Geology

The lithology is dominated by limestone, and several hundred kilometres of cave passages lie beneath the hills, including the world-famous 60 km long Dent de Crolles system.

The Tour Percée Double Arch, at 32 metres (105 ft) the longest span in the Alps.

Winter sports resorts

Chartreuse winter sports resorts include :

Environment

Miscellaneous

The Chartreuse Mountains gave their name to:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chartreuse Mountains.

Coordinates: 45°21′N 5°50′E / 45.350°N 5.833°E / 45.350; 5.833

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.