France is far from the last place on the world map. It is the largest country in Western Europe. Due to the considerable size of the country, its landscape is quite diverse. The French Alps are one of the most remarkable parts of it. How were these mountains formed? What country are the Alps in? What attractions and resorts are there in the French Alps? Let's find out about it.
Geography of France
The French Republic is one of the five permanent members of the UN, a member of the G7, and one of the founders of the European Union. It is a one-national highly urbanized state. France is home to 66.7 million people, most of whom are French. About 80% of the population lives in cities. The capital of the republic is the city of Paris.
Near the country are Spain, Andorra, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of political geography, France is located in Western Europe. More precisely, there ismost of it, because the country is located not only on the continent. It owns more than twenty island territories near Africa, North and South America.
Together with the overseas territories, France on the world map is the second largest country in Europe. It occupies one fifth of the European Union. Its total area is 674,685 square kilometers, and the sea borders of the republic stretch for 5,500 kilometers.
Relief of France
The relief of the state is heterogeneous, there are plains, mountains, as well as ancient plateaus. The plains mainly cover the territory from the northern to the southwestern part. The North French and Aquitaine lowlands stand out most clearly. The lowlands in the southeastern part are located between the Massif Central and the French Alps.
The plateau on the territory of the country is nothing more than the remains of more ancient Hercynian mountains. They are represented by the small Armorian and Central French massifs, the Vosges and the Ardennes. The Armorian Massif and the Vosges are heavily indented by river valleys, while the Massif Central is dotted with long-extinct volcanoes.
France is separated from Spain by a mountain chain in the southwest. The Pyrenees stretched along the entire border there. The countries are connected only in a few narrow passages between the mountains. In the southeast of the country, the Jura and Alps mountains are located with the highest point in France - Mont Blanc. These arrays share the country with Italy and Switzerland.
French Alps
The Alps are located not only in France. They cover the areaSwitzerland, Italy, Austria, Monaco, Slovenia, Germany and Liechtenstein. This is one of the most studied mountain ranges in the world. The mountains are up to 1,200 kilometers long and 260 kilometers wide.
The Alps are the longest and highest mountain system, which is entirely located in Europe. The highest mountain in terms of height is Mont Blanc. In addition to it, there are about a hundred peaks in the Alps, exceeding four thousand meters. The mountains stretch in an arc and are divided into Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern, Central.
The French Alps are Western. They stretched for 330 kilometers. The height of Mont Blanc, the highest point, is 4808 meters. The Alps of France are also divided into several parts: northern and southern.
Both parts differ in climate and landscapes. The north is dominated by glaciers and higher peaks. The Southern Alps are influenced by the sea, as they are located very close to the coast, covering the Maritime and Provencal regions.
Alpine climate
Beginning at the sea, the Southern French Alps have a subtropical climate. Their heights are small compared to the rest of this mountain system. Deviating to the north, they fall into the temperate zone. Of course, their mode largely depends not only on their location, but also on their height. There are five belt zones in the Alps:
- lowland - up to 1000 meters,
- temperate zone - from 1000 meters,
- subalpine belt - from 1500 meters,
- alpine meadow - from 2000 meters,
- nival - above 3000meters.
The weather in the French Alps is changeable. The hottest time is before lunch, then it gradually gets colder. Quite a lot of precipitation falls in the mountains (up to 1000 mm / year). Snow lasts for a long time, until the end of June.
In the northern parts of the Alps, the climate is colder, but humid, but in the southern part, on the contrary, it is dry and warm. Fogs often occur in winter, and hot weather can quickly change to cold in summer.
Above 3000 meters, ice and snow do not melt for years. It is cold here and almost nothing grows. Below begins an alpine meadow or mountain tundra with less cold temperatures, shrubs and low grasses. In the subalpine zone, the temperature does not rise above 25 degrees, frosts occur even in summer.
In the two lower belts, the climate is most favorable for both animals and humans. It is possible to farm and live here. There is a wide variety of plants and animals in these belts.
Local winds
The Alps are characterized by the appearance of so-called local winds (boron, foehn, etc.). They are somewhat different from the standard for this area, but are regular. One of the Alpine local winds is the hair dryer. It emerges from the tops of the mountains and descends into the valleys.
The hair dryer blows strong blasts of dry hot air. Every hundred meters the wind gets hotter. It can last from a day to five days.
The appearance of a hair dryer in the mountains generally helps agriculture. The wind creates a mild microclimate necessary for a number of heat-loving plants. However, it can be harmful and even deadly. By heating the air in spring, the hair dryer helps the snow melt quickly, causing avalanches.
Plants and animals
In the French Alps, there are completely different natural complexes, which, of course, depend on the height. Great heights are deserted treeless territories. Only a few plants "climb" to the peaks, such as the glacial ranunculus, which is found even at an altitude of 4000 meters.
Alpine meadows - steep slopes and rocky hills covered with herbs and flowers. The plants of this belt are low, but very bright. Typical representatives are alpine edelweiss, strawberries, alpine sleep-grass, tar, poppy, red lily, forget-me-not, orchid, aster, etc. Livestock grazes here and marmots, mountain goats, chamois, jackdaws, choughs, swifts and golden eagles live here.
Trees start in the subalpine zone. These are mainly larches, pines and spruces, below there are oak, beech forests. Birds like to settle on the border of the forest and rocks: lemon and snow finches, stone and motley thrush, tits.
Besides, in the Alps there are salamanders, hares, furry-legged owls, red deer, ptarmigans, hickeys. Moufflons boldly walk along the rocky slopes and red-winged wall-climbers run - small birds with a long beak and red stripes on their wings.
Alpine tourism
The Alps have prepared a lot of exciting things for travelers: dense forests, rocky peaks, unique landscapes and wildlife. BUTFrance, in turn, has made it all accessible and convenient.
There are many routes in the mountains with specially equipped places for parking. On the way, you can always find shelters or lonely huts where tourists stop for the night. Detailed itineraries for avid travelers are easy to find at local tourist centers.
However, not all routes are designed for long trips. There are a large number of trails made for simple day trips. They are easy to do when living in one of the mountainous regions, such as Aravi, Vercors, Chablis.
The most popular times in the Alps are winter (December to April) and midsummer (July). During these periods, the bases are filled with vacationers. However, it is not always possible to bypass such a hype. The rest of the time, the weather can be quite unpredictable, and due to snow, some passes are often closed until the second half of June.
Resorts
The resorts of the French Alps offer hiking in the summer, snowboarding, tobogganing, snowshoeing and skiing in the winter. Mountaineering, surfing and yachting in local lakes are developing in the region.
In the resort town of Chamonix, you can admire the beautiful Mont Blanc every day. At an altitude of 3840 meters is the White Valley - the highest point of the resort and a place for one of the most extreme descents in France. Here you can paragliding, canyoning (descent through the canyons of rivers without swimming aids), rock climbing, skiing and snowboarding.
The largest region for skiing and snowboarding is Three Valleys. It has more than six hundred kilometers of high- altitude slopes and hundreds of ski lifts. The region includes several world-famous resorts at once: Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens. There are not only tourist, but also Olympic tracks, open-air glacial arenas, hockey rinks and much more.
The Unique Alps
The French Alps are unique nature and breathtaking landscapes. They are part of the Western Alps and stretch straight from the Mediterranean coast of the country in a northeasterly direction.
Within their limits there are dozens of national parks and protected areas. The most famous of them are Vercors, Chartreuse, Keira, Bauges, etc. The region has popular resorts and picturesque mountain villages. The highest mountain town, Briançon, is located near the Queira Park.
The French Alps is a place where active holidays with extreme sports and a relaxing pastime are possible. There are green flower meadows, swampy forests and bare rocks covered with glaciers, and cold high- altitude lakes with clear blue water. It is simply impossible to remain indifferent to these places.
