Chartreuse (mountains)
| Chartreuse | |
|---|---|
 Structure of the French Western Alps |
|
| Highest peak | Chamechaude ( 2082 m ) |
| location | Three quarters in the Isère department , one quarter in the Savoie department , France |
| part of | French Limestone Alps |
| Coordinates | 45 ° 23 ' N , 5 ° 49' E |
The Chartreuse is a pre-Alpine limestone mountain range in the northern French Alps . The massif, the highest peak of which is the Chamechaude with a height of 2082 m , is located in the departments of Savoie and Isère . It is geographically assigned to the Chaînes Subalpines Septentrionales (northern pre-Alps ) and geologically to the French Limestone Alps . The sparsely populated mountain area is under nature protection ( Chartreuse Regional Nature Park ).
In a remote side valley of Guiers-Mort , Bruno of Cologne founded the Grande Chartreuse monastery in 1084 . It is the mother monastery of the Carthusian Order .
geography
location
The Chartreuse is located in south-east France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region , between the cities of Grenoble and Chambéry . In the north and northeast, the valley furrow of Chambéry - a slightly curved longitudinal valley - separates the mountain range from that of the Bauges . To the east and south-east, the Chartreuse is separated from the high-alpine mountain range of the Belledonne , which is already made of crystalline rock, by the broad valley of the Isère , which is called Grésivaudan in this section . The Isère describes a sharp curve near Grenoble on the southern edge of the massif and then flows in a transverse valley , the Cluse de l'Isère , to the northwest. This breakthrough valley separates the Chartreuse from the Vercors massif to the southwest . Only a narrow valley furrow borders the Chartreuse in the west and leads directly to the anticlines of Ratz and Épine , which form the southernmost chains of the Jura Mountains . The molasse basin of the Rhonegraben connects to the west of these ridges .
geomorphology
The mountain complex of the Chartreuse shows an extension of about 40 km in south-southwest-north-northeast direction with a width of about 15 km. The relief is characterized by a series of mountain chains that also show this direction of orientation. In between there are some narrow longitudinal valleys, the longitudinal basin of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse and Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont as well as two narrow, deeply incised transverse valleys. The mountain ranges of the Chartreuse are characterized by striking, mostly vertically sloping, up to 200 m high and often steep cliffs made of limestone . In some places, such rock faces can be followed practically without interruption over a distance of up to 10 km in the landscape. On the eastern flank of the massif, the Plateau des Petites Roches extends on an average of 1000 m, a terrain terrace with several villages, which lies around 700 m above the valley floor of the Grésivaudan.
Mountain peaks and rivers
The most important peaks include (in order of height):
- Chamechaude , 2082 m , in the south of the massif
- Dent de Crolles , 2062 m , to the east
- Lances de Malissard , 2045 m , to the east
- Grand Som , 2026 m , in the center
- Mont Granier , 1933 m , striking mountain range in the northeast
- Grande Sure , 1920 m , to the west
- Charming Som , 1867 m , in the center
- Pinéa , 1773 m , in the south
- Mont Outheran , 1676 m , to the north
The two rivers Guiers Vif and Guiers Mort drain a large part of the Chartreuse massif. Both arise in karst springs on the western slope of the easternmost mountain range and then flow westward, initially crossing the longitudinal basin. Then they break through the western mountain ranges of the massif in wild gorges before they flow together in the valley below at Entre-deux-Guiers . The river now called Guiers turns north and finally flows into the Rhône. The southernmost section of the Chartreuse massif lies in the catchment area of the Isère, as is the eastern flank of the mountains. Short torrents have created various erosion channels here.
geology
From a structural geological point of view, the Chartreuse forms a mountain range of folds on the edge of the Western Alps. It consists of a thick layer of Mesozoic sediments deposited in the Tethys Ocean . The sequence of layers extends from the lower Jurassic period (Lias, about 200 million years ago) to the Upper Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago). During this long period of time, numerous clayey, marly layers and limestone layers were sedimented. While the latter indicate conditions in a warm shallow sea , the marly layers mainly originate from periods with cooler water and at least partially deep-sea conditions (sediments were deposited in the deep sea). The thickness of the sediment layers shows considerable regional variations within the Chartreuse massif. For example, the thickness of the layers from the Lower Cretaceous increases by more than 100% in a profile from west to east.
In the early Tertiary, more sands, marls and limestone settled over the sediments of the Mesozoic . In the course of the Tertiary, these sediment layers were lifted above sea level in the course of the folding of the Alps and pushed together to form a mountain range of folds. From this point on, erosion (by water, wind and ice) started and transported the debris to the foothills of the Alps. The ancient tertiary sediments were therefore largely eroded. In the Miocene, a sea basin opened on the western edge of the Chartreuse massif, which was filled over time by the erosion material from the rising mountains.
The various uplift and subsidence processes led to the formation of numerous faults , fault lines and displacements. During the Ice Ages , the glaciers contributed significantly to the modeling of the relief and the planing of the wide valley furrows that border the Chartreuse. The Chartreuse itself remained largely free of ice, apart from a few karst glaciers.
As a result of the strong combination thrust and faults that are oriented mostly toward the west-southwest-east-northeast, the typical let Antiklinal- and Synklinalstrukturen basis of the relief is not so easily seen in neighboring Bauges . The western part of the Chartreuse is characterized by three to four successive thrusts of the sedimentary complex from the Upper Jura to the Upper Cretaceous. The layers fall therefore one to the southeast and east. In contrast, the eastern part of the mountain is slightly less strongly folded, but is also disturbed by fault lines.
In almost the entire massif, the peaks are formed by the thick rock layer of the Urgon Limestone (deposited in the Cretaceous around 110 million years ago). It is characterized by rugged, vertically sloping rock walls. The peaks of Chamechaude, Dent de Crolles, Grand Som and Mont Granier are built up from this banked limestone layer, which is partly more and partly less eroded. The somewhat older layer of Fontanil limestone (Lower Cretaceous) emerges in the Grande Sure in the summit area and in various places under the Urgon limestone. The third relief-forming limestone layer is the Tithon limestone, which is particularly visible on the eastern flank of the Chartreuse below the Plateau des Petites Roches as well as in Ecoutoux and Mont Saint-Eynard.
Softer rock layers have been more heavily eroded over time, so that larger valleys have formed here. An example of this is the longitudinal trough that stretches from the Col de Porte via Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, the Col du Cucheron and Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont to the Col du Granier . It is sunk into the soft marl layers of the Lower Cretaceous.
Natural and cultural landscape
The Chartreuse massif is only sparsely populated. Larger cities and towns are located in the long valley furrows on the edge of the Chartreuse, namely Grenoble in the south with its suburbs in the Isèretal, Chambéry in the north, Pontcharra in the east and Voreppe , Voiron and Saint-Laurent-du-Pont in the west. In the valleys and hollows of the Chartreuse there are some scattered settlements and numerous individual farms. However, no municipality has more than 1000 inhabitants. The central towns of the Chartreuse include Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse and Saint-Pierre-d'Entremont (divided into two parts by the departmental border of Isère and Savoie).
The residents live from tourism, from dairy farming and cattle breeding , and the timber industry is also important. Meadows and pastures extend into the flatter basins, while the slopes are predominantly forest-covered. The tree line is around 1800 m, above which there are alpine meadows.
tourism
The mountain range serves as a recreational area for Grenoble and Chambéry. The tourist infrastructure here is, however, much less developed than in the tourist areas of the Alps that adjoin Grenoble to the east. The mountain ranges of the Chartreuse are suitable for both winter sports and summer activities. The winter sports stations in the Chartreuse with mountain railways and ski lifts include:
- Le Désert-d'Entremont (about 1100 to 1500 m)
- Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse and Le Planolet at the Col du Cucheron (about 1000 to 1700 m)
- Col de Porte (about 1300 to 1600 m)
- Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse
- Le Charmant Som , a gently structured ski area at the foot of a 1,867 m high double peak
- Saint-Hilaire-du-Touvet on the Plateau des Petites Roches
Natural park
In 1995 , the Chartreuse Regional Nature Park ( French Parc naturel régional de Chartreuse ) was created to protect the rich flora and fauna of the mountain area. The nature park extends over an area of 690 km².
See also
literature
- Beatrix Voigt: Chartreuse. Experience the great silence while hiking . In: DAV Panorama . No. 5 , 2008, p. 44-51 ( PDF ).
