Massif Central
| Massif Central | |
|---|---|
Puy de Dôme is the highest volcano in the chain of volcanoes Chaine des Puys
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Puy de Sancy |
| Elevation | 1,886 m (6,188 ft) |
| Coordinates | 45°31′42″N 2°48′51″E / 45.52833°N 2.81417°E |
| Geography | |
 |
|
| Country | France |
| States/Provinces | |
| Range coordinates | 46°N 3°E / 46°N 3°ECoordinates: 46°N 3°E / 46°N 3°E |
The Massif Central (French: [masif sɑ̃tʁal]) is an elevated region in the middle of southern France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers approximately 15 percent of the country.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,000 years, these central mountains are separated from the Alps by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rhône River and known in French as the sillon rhodanien (literally "the furrow of the Rhône").
The region was a barrier to transportation within France until the opening of the A75 motorway, which not only made North-South travel easier, but also opened up the Massif Central itself.
The Massif Central is an old massif, formed during the Variscan orogeny, consisting mostly of granitic and metamorphic rocks. It was powerfully raised and made to look geologically younger in the Eastern section by the uplift of the Alps during the Paleogene period and in the Southern section by the uplift of the Pyrenees. The massif thus presents a strongly asymmetrical elevation profile with highlands in the South and in the East (Cévennes) dominating the valley of the Rhône and the plains of Languedoc and by contrast, the less elevated region of Limousin in the northwest.
On this crystalline foundation, there are many volcanoes of many different types: volcanic plateaus (Aubrac, Cézallier), stratovolcanoes (Mounts of Cantal, Monts Dore), and small, very recent monogenic volcanoes (Chaîne des Puys, Vivarais). The entire region contains a large concentration of approximately 450 extinct volcanoes. One strip alone, running north to south and less than 60 square miles (160 km2) long, contains 115 of them. The Auvergne Volcanoes National Park is in the massif.
...
Wikipedia