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Massif Central
View of Puy de Sancy, the highest peak in the Massif Central
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 / 45.52833; 2.81417
Geography
Country	France
States/Provinces	List Auvergne Burgundy Languedoc-Roussillon Limousin Midi-Pyrénées Rhône-Alpes
Range coordinates	46°N 3°E / 46°N 3°E / 46; 3Coordinates: 46°N 3°E / 46°N 3°E / 46; 3

The Massif Central (French pronunciation: ​[masif sɑ̃tʁal]; Occitan: Massís Central) is a highland region in the middle of Southern France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers approximately 15% of mainland France.

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 "Rhône furrow"). The region was a barrier to transport within France until the opening of the A75 motorway, which not only made north–south travel easier, but also opened up the Massif itself.

Geography and geology[edit]

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.

These tectonic movements created faults and may be the origin of the volcanism in the Massif (but the hypothesis is not proved yet). In fact, above the crystalline foundation, we can observe many volcanoes of many different types and ages: 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. The Chaîne des Puys, a range running north to south and less than 160 km² (60 sq mi) long, contains 115 of them.^{[citation needed]} The Auvergne Volcanoes regional natural park is in the massif.

In the south, one remarkable region, made up of features called causses in French, consists of raised chalky plateaus cut by very deep canyons. The most famous of these is the canyon of the Tarn.

Mountains[edit]

Mountain ranges, with notable individual mountains, are (roughly north to south):

• 
  Chaîne des Puys
  
  
  
  • 
    Puy de Dôme (1,464 m, 4,803 ft)
  
  
  • 
    Puy de Pariou (1,210 m, 3,970 ft)
  
  
  • 
    Puy de Lassolas (1,187 m, 3,894 ft)
  
  
  • 
    Puy de la Vache (1,167 m, 3,829 ft)
  
  
  
  


• 
  Monts Dore
  
  • 
    Puy de Sancy (1,886 m, 6,188 ft)
  
  


• Monts du Lyonnais


• 
  Pilat massif
  
  • 
    Crêt de la Perdrix (1,431 m, 4,695 ft)
  
  


• 
  Mounts of Cantal
  
  
  
  • 
    Plomb du Cantal (1,855 m, 6,086 ft)
  
  
  • 
    Puy Mary (1,787 m, 5,863 ft)
  
  
  
  


• 
  Forez
  
  • 
    Pierre-sur-Haute (1,634 m, 5,361 ft)
  
  


• 
  L'Aubrac
  
  • 
    Signal de Mailhebiau (1,469 m, 4,820 ft)
  
  


• 
  Monts de La Margeride
  
  • 
    Signal de Randon (1,551 m, 5,089 ft)
  
  


• Monts du Vivarais (Ardèche)
  
  
  
  • 
    Mont Mézenc (1,753 m, 5,751 ft)
  
  
  • 
    Mont Gerbier de Jonc (1,551 m, 5,089 ft)
  
  
  
  


• 
  Cévennes
  
  
  
  • 
    Mont Lozère (1,699 m, 5,574 ft), the highest non-volcanic summit
  
  
  • 
    Mont Aigoual (1,567 m, 5,141 ft), near Le Vigan, Florac
  
  
  
  


• 
  Monts de Lacaune
  
  • 
    Montgrand (1,267 m, 4,157 ft)
  
  


• Monts de l'Espinouse
  
  • Sommet de l'Espinouse (1,124 m, 3,688 ft)
  
  


• 
  Montagne Noire
  
  • 
    Pic de Nore (1,211 m, 3,973 ft)
  
  

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Chaine des Puys in Auvergne
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Puy de Sancy (1,886 m, 6,188 ft)
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The Cévennes range
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Gorges du Tarn canyon
  

  
  

  
  

Plateaus[edit]

Causse Méjean

• Causse du Larzac


• Plateau de Millevaches


• Plateau de Lévézou


• Causse du Comtal


• Causse de Sauveterre


• Causse de Sévérac


• Causse Méjean


• Causse Noir


• Causse de Blandas

Administration[edit]

The following departments are generally considered as part of the Massif Central: Allier, Ardèche, Aude, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze, Creuse, Gard, Haute-Loire, Haute-Vienne, Hérault, Loire, Lot, Lozère, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, and Tarn; these form parts of the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie.

The largest cities in the region are Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges and Saint-Étienne.

See also[edit]

• Geography of France

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 
  Media related to Massif Central at Wikimedia Commons