Massif Central
The Massif Central is the only mountainous region of mainland France which lies wholly within the country. It covers one sixth of the surface area of France. On the northern side it is bounded by the Paris Basin, on the eastern and southern sides by the Rhone Valley and delta, and by the Aquitane Basin in the west. It is roughly circular in shape, with an area of around 93,000 square km and an average height of 715m. It is the most geologically diverse area of France and also has the most varied climate.
The massif is made up of four main areas:
Limousin. This region lies on the north-western side of the region. This is soft more undulating country of green pastureland, ranging in altitude between 300m and 1000m. It is composed of crystalline rocks.
The Auvergne. This is the central area containing the majority of the highest summits in the massif. To the east lie the mountain ranges of Forez, Livradois and Velay. To the east are the remains of extinct volcanoes – e.g. the Monts Dômes, Monts Dore and the Monts du Cantal. The fertile soil and high rainfall makes the area a region of lush pasture and forest. There are also many crater lakes.
Aveyron. This area lies to the south-west. The waters of the rivers Lot, Aveyron and Tarn flow westwards through this region from the Aubrac mountains. It is an area of deep gorges and valleys with dry plateaux above.
Lozère. This is the region in the east of the Grands Causses of the Cévennes. It is a vast dry isolated upland composed of granites, gneiss, limestone and schists.
The massif was raised up again in the same period as the formation of the Pyrenees and the Alps (the Alpine orogeny) by a counter-movement that crushed the sedimentary rocks of the area up against the hard granitic blocks, causing faulting and rifting. This gave the massif an east-west incline, with the highest areas lying to the east nearer the Rhone Valley. Volcanic activity continued beyond the Tertiary Period until as recently as 8000 years ago. Glaciation further shaped the area, covering most of the region in an icecap which must have resembled Iceland today. The volcanoes were remodelled by the glaciers into a landscape of ridges, deep valleys and planezes. There is now, however, no permanent snow.
The highest and most prominent summit in the massif is Puy de Sancy in the Auvergne, which has an altitude of 1885m and prominence of 1578m. The second most prominent summit in the massif is Mont Lozère in the southern-eastern region of the Cévennes, which is 1699m in altitude and c.650m in prominence.
Lists of the mountains in the Massif Central will be available to download from this page in due course.