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31-554: Belledonne (French: chaîne de Belledonne [ʃɛːn də bɛldɔn] ) is a mountain range (French: massif ) in the Dauphiné Alps (part of the French Alps ) in southeast France. The southern end of the range forms the eastern wall of the mountains that surround the city of Grenoble . The range is noted for the spectacular scenery it provides the inhabitants of Grenoble, numerous ski areas, interesting geology, and

62-537: A diverse range of alpine land types and uses. The Belledonne range is approximately 60 km (37 mi) long by between 10 km (6.2 mi) wide and runs from roughly 45°03′N 5°48′E  /  45.050°N 5.800°E  / 45.050; 5.800 , 16 km (9.9 mi) south-south-east of the city of Grenoble , in a north-easterly direction (actually 35 degrees) for 65 km (40 mi) to roughly 45°33′N 6°17′E  /  45.550°N 6.283°E  / 45.550; 6.283 , near

93-589: A major tourist attraction. Alpine ibex, grey wolves, lynx, royal eagles or vultures are among the many rare species that live in the numerous valleys of Maurienne. The famous but rare and expensive Bleu de Termignon cheese is made in the commune of Termignon in the Haute-Maurienne near the Italian border. The region has numerous traces of human habitation since the Paleolithic . In 1032, Humbert

124-843: A variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes

155-722: Is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in

186-583: Is an excellent source for geological information on the Belledonne Range and on all of the French Alps . Mountain range Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in

217-538: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to

248-531: Is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion

279-525: Is industrial, and its significant towns are: The upper valley of the Arc is known as haute Maurienne . It lies along the Italian border around 45 km near Mont Cenis . It begins east of Modane , an old frontier town, at the mouth of the Fréjus Road Tunnel , dominated by the resort of Val Fréjus. The villages, rising up from the valley, are: About 5,000 inhabitants live there permanently, but

310-562: Is now effectively an upscale suburb of Grenoble. The most spectacular glacier in Belledonne is the French: Glacier de Freydane , which is noted for its crevasses . No road cuts across Belledonne. The Pas de la Coche pass, between Belledonne proper and the 7 Laux range, is the only natural break point in the range, and is the only point below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) on the Belledonne ridge (the main water divide between

341-510: Is one of the provinces of Savoy , corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France . It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne . The Maurienne valley is one of the great transverse valleys of the Alps . The river which has shaped the valley since the last glaciation is the Arc . The valley begins at the village of Écot (in

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372-482: Is the Belledonne Balcony (French: Le Balcon de Belledonne ), a terrace or plateau some 30 km long on the western side of the range that provides a relatively level area intersected by narrow ravines eroded by rivers taking runoff from the snow levels higher up. The Balcony has supported diverse livestock-raising and other agricultural activity for a considerable period of time, and its Southern part

403-673: The commune of Bonneval-sur-Arc ), at the foot of the Col de l'Iseran , and ends at the confluence of the Arc and the Isère in the commune of Aiton . The mountains on the southern side are the Dauphiné Alps and the Cottian Alps . On the northern side are the part of the Graian Alps known as the Vanoise . The capital, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne , lies at the confluence of the Arc and

434-964: The Gresivaudan side, while work never started on the steeper other side ( Eau d'Olle ). Before the automobile era, locals frequently used this pass to go from Gresivaudan to the Eau d'Olle valley, or to continue to the Maurienne valley via the Glandon pass. Hannibal may have passed the Pas de la Coche when he crossed the Alps with his army. Belledonne and its lakes have played a major role in industrializing hydroelectricity production as early as 1869 thanks to pioneer Aristide Bergès and his paper mills which tapped water from lake Crozet. There are 4 main ski resorts in Belledonne, from South to North: The origin of

465-525: The Isère and the Romanche ). Most other passes are not much lower in elevation than their neighboring peaks. At the turn of the 20th century, Joseph Paganon , a minister in several French governments, pushed for linking Laval to the Rivier-d' Allemond by road through the Pas de la Coche. That roadwork started but eventually stopped after Paganon's death at an elevation of 1,336 m (4,383 ft) on

496-654: The Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars . Jupiter's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including the Boösaule , Dorian, Hi'iaka and Euboea Montes . Maurienne Maurienne ( French pronunciation: [mɔʁjɛn] ; Arpitan : Môrièna ; Italian : Moriana )

527-473: The Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As the air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and

558-586: The Arvan. Part of the main road and rail route between Lyon and Turin runs through the valley. The A43 autoroute and a railway line enter at the western end from the Isère valley, and leave at Modane using the Fréjus Road and Rail Tunnels respectively which both emerge at Bardonecchia in Italy . The Turin–Lyon high-speed railway will also be built through the lower valley. The other roads out of

589-742: The Celtic donne meaning valley , hence beautiful valleys , or indo-European bal , meaning elevated rock , which evolved into bel , then belle . It is difficult without evidence to determine the validity of these derivations. The mountains are home to marmots , chamois , ibex mountain goats and grouse . Reportedly, wolves have returned since 1998, coming from Italy and the press regularly echoes complaints from shepherds about wolves attacking their sheep. The ibex had completely disappeared from Belledonne. Early 1983, 13 females and 7 males were brought in from Switzerland and by spring 2002, their population had risen to 900 heads. The Alps Geology site

620-573: The Sardinians in the early 19th century to protect Piedmont from a French invasion. The Maurienne was not incorporated into France until 1860, as part of the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the unification of Italy . Despite this, the Maurienne and the Tarentaise valleys are classified as French towns and lands of Art and History . The middle part of the valley

651-522: The Tertiary uplift of the Alps and subjected to glacial erosion during the Quaternary . As a result of its geologic history, Belledonne alternates jagged peaks with gentle slopes. Belledonne overlooks the fairly flat Isère Valley (French: Grésivaudan ) which lies only 220 m (720 ft) above sea level near Grenoble. Hence, all alpine vegetation zones are represented: A significant feature

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682-617: The White-Handed received the Maurienne , his native land, from Conrad II the Salian whom he had helped in his Italian campaigns against Aribert, Archbishop of Milan . The House of Savoy maintained their independence as counts and then dukes until Savoy was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia , which included Piedmont in north-western Italy. In the Maurienne are a series of five forts, La Barrière de l'Esseillon, that were created by

713-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,

744-663: The highest of which is over 2,400 m (7,900 ft) above sea level. Geologically, Belledonne is a concatenation of ranges which are not physically separated; from north to south, these are: the Grand Arc, the Lauzière, the Sept-Laux, Belledonne proper, and the Taillefer. Belledonne is a crystalline range. It initiated as a Paleozoic peneplain which was covered by Mesozoic sediments , then raised and tilted during

775-518: The name is not clear. The phrase belle donne means beautiful women in Italian. It does not appear to mean that in Arpitan , and since Arpitan is the ancient regional language, would have been a more likely source of ancient names than Italian. Nevertheless, from one angle the highest peak, the Grand Pic du Belledonne allegedly looks like a woman holding a baby. Other suggested derivations are from

806-532: The population reaches about 15,000 in the winter. Much of the upper Maurienne is included in Vanoise National Park , which became the first national park in France in 1963. This borders Gran Paradiso National Park of Italy. The two parks are important areas for ibexes , chamois , and golden eagles ; the lammergeier was recently reintroduced into the area. It appears that wolves have reached

837-627: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include

868-512: The town of Aiguebelle . The highest point is the Grand Pic de Belledonne , 2,977 m (9,767 ft). The range is delineated by several valleys which lie at relatively low altitude, including the Grésivaudan Valley (which carries the Isère ) on the west, the river Arc to the north and the Romanche to the south. The range counts dozens of peaks over 2,500 m (8,200 ft), more than 10 glaciers , and many alpine lakes,

899-412: The valley use the following mountain cols: Other cols such as the Col d'Etache , Col du Carro and the Col de Vallée Etroite are only passable on foot. Geographers traditionally distinguish three areas: the lower, middle and upper Maurienne. The province contains the following cantons , from west to east : The abundance of hydro-electric power (there are twenty-four hydroelectric stations in

930-405: The valley) created heavy industry such as electrochemical plants and aluminum refining, but now the emphasis in the area is on tourism, especially winter sports. Numerous ski resorts line the valley, from the small villages like Albiez-Montrond to the purpose-built resorts, dating from the 1970s like Le Corbier and Les Karellis . The Vanoise National Park and its protected surroundings are

961-543: The world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and the Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then

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