Vosges

The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and low mountain range of around in area. It runs in a north-northeast direction from the Burgundian Gate (the Belfort–Ronchamp– Lure line) to the Börrstadt Basin (the Winnweiler–Börrstadt–Göllheim line), and forms the western boundary of the Upper Rhine Plain.

The Grand Ballon is the highest peak at , followed by the Storkenkopf (), and the Hohneck ().IGN maps available o
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Geography

Geographically, the Vosges Mountains are wholly in France, far above the Col de Saverne separating them from the Palatinate Forest in Germany. The latter area logically continues the same Vosges geologic structure but traditionally receives this different name for historical and political reasons. From 1871 to 1918 the Vosges marked for the most part the border between Germany and France, due to the Franco-Prussian War. The elongated massif is divided south to north into three sections:

* The Higher Vosges or High VosgesDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A Regional and Economic Geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 540. . (''Hautes Vosges''), extending in the southern part of the range from Belfort to the river valley of the Bruche. The rounded summits of the Hautes Vosges are called ''ballons'' in French, literally "balloons".
* The sandstone Vosges or Middle Vosges (), between the Permian Basin of Saint-Die including the Devonian-Dinantian volcanic massif of Schirmeck-Moyenmoutier and the Col de Saverne
* The Lower Vosges or Low Vosges (), commonly known as North Vosges, a sandstone plateau ranging from to high, between the Col de Saverne and the source of the Lauter.

In addition, the term "Central Vosges" is used to designate the various lines of summits, especially those above in elevation. The French department of Vosges is named after the range.

Geology

From a geological point of view, a graben at the beginning of the Paleogene period caused the formation of Alsace and the uplift of the bedrock plates of the Vosges, in eastern France, and those in the Black Forest, in Germany. From a scientific view, the Vosges Mountains are not mountains as such, but rather the western edge of the unfinished Alsatian graben, stretching continuously as part of the larger Tertiary formations. Erosive glacial action was the primary catalyst for development of the highland massif feature.

The Vosges in their southern and central parts are called the ''Hautes Vosges''. These consist of a large Carboniferous mountain eroded just before the Permian Period with gneiss, granites, porphyritic masses or other volcanic intrusions. The north, south and west parts are less eroded by glaciers, and here Vosges Triassic and Permian red sandstone remains are found in large beds. The ''grès vosgien'' (a French name for a Triassic rose sandstone) are embedded sometimes up to more than in thickness. The Lower Vosges in the north are dislocated plates of various sandstones, ranging from high.

The Vosges are very similar to the corresponding range of the Black Forest across the Rhine since both lie within the same degrees of latitude, have similar geological formations and are characterized by forests on their lower slopes, above which are open pastures and rounded summits of a rather uniform altitude. Both areas exhibit steeper slopes towards the Rhine and a more gradual descent on the other side. Both the Vosges and the Black Forest were formed by isostatic uplift in response to the opening of the Rhine Graben, a major extensional basin. When such basins form, the thinning of the crust causes uplift immediately adjacent to the basin, decreasing with distance from the basin. Thus, the highest range of peaks rises immediately adjacent to the basin and increasingly lower mountains rise further from the basin.

Mountains

The highest points are in the ''Hautes Vosges'': the Grand Ballon, in ancient times called ''Ballon de Guebwiller'' or ''Ballon de Murbach,'' rises to ; the Storckenkopf to ; the Hohneck to ; the Kastelberg to ; and the Ballon d'Alsace to . The Col de Saales, between the Higher and Central Vosges, reaches nearly , both lower and narrower than the Higher Vosges, with Mont Donon at being the highest point of this Nordic section.

The highest mountains and peaks of the Vosges (with Alsatian or German names in brackets) are:
* Grand Ballon (''Großer Belchen'')
* Storkenkopf
* Hohneck
* Kastelberg
* Klintzkopf (''Klinzkopf'')
* Rothenbachkopf
* Lauchenkopf
* Batteriekopf
* Haut de Falimont
* Gazon du Faing
* Rainkopf
* Gazon du Faîte
* Ringbuhl (''Ringbühl'')
* Soultzereneck (''Sulzereneck'')
* Le Tanet (''Tanneck'')
* Petit Ballon (''Kahler Wasen'' or ''Kleiner Belchen'')
* Ballon d'Alsace (''Elsässer Belchen'')
* Brézouard
* Ballon de Servance (highest point in the département of Haute-Saône

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