Jura Mountains

Coordinates: 46°40′N 6°15′E / 46.667°N 6.250°E / 46.667; 6.250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Jura mountains
)
Not to be confused with Montes Jura or Paps of Jura.
Jura Mountains
Landscape of tree-clad valley stretching toward mountainous horizon
View towards Lélex from near the Crêt de la Neige
Highest point
PeakCrêt de la Neige
Elevation1,720 m (5,640 ft)
Coordinates46°16′15″N 5°56′22″E / 46.27083°N 5.93944°E / 46.27083; 5.93944
Geography
Satellite image of the Jura mountains and Western Alps, including Lake Geneva, with major cities labeled
Satellite image of the Jura Mountains (mostly dark green area in the upper left half of the image)
Countries
Zurich
Range coordinates46°40′N 6°15′E / 46.667°N 6.250°E / 46.667; 6.250

The Jura Mountains (

sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper ("folded Jura", Faltenjura) is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues as the Table Jura ("not folded Jura", Tafeljura) northeastwards through northern Switzerland and Germany
.

Name

The mountain range gives its name to the

period of the geologic timescale, and the Montes Jura of the Moon
.

It is first attested as mons Iura in book one of

celticists such as Georges Dottin tried to establish an etymon "iura-, iuri" as a Celtic word for mountains,[2] with similar putative etymologies (e.g. *juris, "mountainous forest") still appearing in more recent non-academic publications.[3] However, since there are no clear cognates in the surviving corpus of the Celtic languages, modern studies of Proto-Celtic and Gaulish etymology tend not to list any lemmata connected to Jura, and the name must be considered fundamentally unclear.[4]

Physiography

The Jura Mountains are a far province of the larger

Central European uplands. The Jura range proper lies in France and Switzerland.[5]

In France, the Jura covers most of the

department of Savoie. The north end of the Jura extends into the southern tip of Alsace (Sundgau). Roughly 1,600 km2 (600 sq mi) of the mountain range in France is protected by the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park
.

Topographical map (relief map) of Switzerland showing the Jura range proper (Faltenjura) in the northwest and west, and the Alps
in the south and east

The Swiss Jura is one of the three distinct geographical regions of Switzerland, the others being the

Early Modern Switzerland and was incorporated as part of the Swiss Confederacy only in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a movement for Jura separatism
developed which resulted in the creation of the Canton of Jura in 1979.

The east of the Jura range proper

basins. The northern and eastern part of the range drains towards the Rhine river and its tributaries Aare and Ill, whereas the western and southern parts drain towards the Rhône river and its (sub)tributaries Doubs, Saône, and Ain. Initially the river Doubs (a subtributary of the Rhône) flows about 100 km (62 mi) northeast, briefly venturing into Switzerland, then changing direction and flowing about 170 km (110 mi) southwest before joining the Saône ca. 140 km (87 mi) north of the French city of Lyon. In Lyon, the Saône joins the Rhône. While the Rhine flows into the North Sea, the Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea
.

Northeast, the Jura range proper (known as "folded Jura", Faltenjura) is continued as the

Aargau, and Schaffhausen (Randen), and the southern German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (as Klettgau Jura, Baar Jura, and the Swabian and Franconian
plateaus).

Inward-curving cliff of the Creux du Van
Creux du Van
Further information: Faux d'Enson

Geology

See also: Vosges and Jura coal mining basins

The range is built up vertically while decreasing in size laterally (along a rough northwest–southeast line). This deformation accommodates the compression from alpine folding as the main Alpine orogenic front moves roughly northwards. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the younger, more active Alpine mountain building.

The geologic folds comprise three major bands (

geologic periods. Each era of folding reveals effects of previously shallow marine environments as evidenced by beds with carbonate sequences, containing abundant bioclasts and oolitic
divisions between layers (called horizons).

Structurally, the Jura consists of a sequence of geologic folds, the formation of which is facilitated by an

decollement layer. The box folds are still relatively young, which is evident by the general shape of the landscape showing that they have not existed long enough to experience erosion
, thus revealing recent mountain building.

Main peaks

Altitude Peak Canton or
Department
1720 m Crêt de la Neige  France, Ain
1718 m Le Reculet  France, Ain
1702 m Grand Crêt  France, Ain
1688 m Colomby de Gex  France, Ain
1679 m Mont Tendre  Switzerland, Vaud
1677 m La Dôle  Switzerland, Vaud
1621 m Crêt de la Goutte  France, Ain
1614 m
Grand Montrond
  France, Ain
1607 m Chasseral  
Bern
1607 m
Le Chasseron
  Switzerland, Vaud
1597 m Crêt du Milieu  France, Ain
1596 m
Mont Rond
  France, Ain
1588 m Le Suchet   Switzerland, Vaud
1584 m Crêt du Miroir  France, Ain
1567 m Le Noirmont  Switzerland, Vaud
1560 m Aiguilles de Baulmes  Switzerland, Vaud
1546 m Crêt du l’Éguillon  France, Ain
1545 m Crêt de Chalam  France, Ain
1543 m
Petit Montrond
  France, Ain
1540 m Grand Colombier  France, Ain
1536 m Crêt des Frasses  France, Ain
1528 m La Barillette  Switzerland, Vaud
1504 m Signal du Mont du Chat  France, Savoie
1495 m Crêt Pela  France, Jura
1483 m Dent de Vaulion  Switzerland, Vaud
1463 m Mont d’Or  France, Doubs
1448 m Crêt au Merle  France, Jura
1445 m Hasenmatt  
Solothurn
1439 m Mont Racine  Switzerland, Neuchâtel
1425 m Chaîne de l’Épine  France, Savoie
1419 m Le Morond  France, Doubs
1395 m
Röti
)		  
Solothurn
1382 m Mont Sujet  
Bern
1323 m Le Grand Taureau  France, Doubs

Tourism

The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing. There are many signposted trails including the Jura ridgeway, a 310 km (190 mi) hiking route.

Tourist attractions in the Swiss Jura include natural features such as the

horological
and related cultural past.

In the French Jura, the 11th-century

Vauban in 1690 and subsequently by other military engineers, is situated on a natural rock outcropping in the middle of the range not far from Pontarlier. Part of the A40 autoroute crosses through a portion of the southern Jura between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
, which is known as the "Highway of the Titans".

See also

References

  1. ^ French: [ʒyʁa] ⓘ, German: [ˈjuːʁa] ⓘ, locally [ˈjuːɾa];[needs Arpitan IPA] French: Massif du Jura; German: Juragebirge; Italian: Massiccio del Giura; Romansh: Montagnas da Jura
  2. ^ Dottin, Georges (1918). La Langue gauloise : grammaire, textes et glossaire. Paris: Klincksieck. p. 263.
  3. ISBN 9782882954640
    .
  4. ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1
    .
  5. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00089-5
    .

External links


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