The Chartreuse Mountains ( ) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, stretching from the city of

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

in the south to the

Lac du Bourget Lac du Bourget (; English Lake Bourget), also locally known as Lac Gris (; ) or Lac d'Aix (), is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and ...

in the north. They are part of the

French Prealps The French Prealps ( ); are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva southwest to the rivers Isère and Drôme; east to a line running from Chamo ...

, which continue as the

Bauges The Bauges Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie to the city of Chambéry, Savoie, which is part of the French Prealps. Major peaks The Bauges have fourt ...

to the north and the Vercors to the south.

Etymology

The name ''Chartreuse'' is derived from the village now known as Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, earlier ''Catorissium'', ''Cantourisa'', ''Caturissium'', and ''Chatrousse''. It appears to be of

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

origin; and is perhaps related to the name of the

Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catu ...

tribe.

Geography

The mountain range rises between

(south),

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

(north),

Voiron Voiron (; ) is a commune (French municipality) in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron is located northwest of Grenoble ...

and

Saint-Laurent-du-Pont Saint-Laurent-du-Pont () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. In 1970 it was the location of the Club Cinq-Sept fire, in which 146 people died. Population Economy There is a large cement works at Saint-Laurent-du-P ...

(west) and

Grésivaudan The Grésivaudan (; sometimes Graisivaudan) is a valley of the French Alps, situated mostly in the Isère. Etymologically, ''Graisivaudan'' comes from roots meaning "Grenoble" (''Gratianopolis'') and "valley".''Robert des noms propres'' It compr ...

(''Isère valley'', east)

Main summits

Summits of the Chartreuse Mountains include: * Chamechaude, *

Dent de Crolles The Dent de Crolles () is a karstic mountain (2,062 m) of the Chartreuse Mountains range, north east of Grenoble, Isère, France. The mountain has a characteristic "tooth-like" profile; the French word ''dent'' means "tooth". ''de Crolles'' is d ...

, * Les Lances de Malissard *

Grand Som The Grand Som is a mountain of the Chartreuse Mountains in the French Prealps, in Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Na ...

, * Dôme de Bellefont * Piton de Bellefont * Mont Granier, * La Grande Sure, * Le Charmant Som * Sommet du Pinet ou le Truc * Rochers de Chalves * Rocher de Lorzier * Dent de l'Ours * Scia *

Petit Som The Grand Som is a mountain of the Chartreuse Mountains in the French Prealps, in Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Name ...

* Pinéa * Mont Outheran * Grands Crêts * Pointe de la Gorgeat * Écoutoux * mont Saint-Eynard * Néron * Rachais

Main passes

Passes of the Chartreuse Mountains include :

With road

* Col de la Charmette * Col de la Cluse * Col du Coq * Col du Cucheron * Col du Granier * Col de Porte * Col de Palaquit *Col de Vence * Col de la Placette

Without road

* Col de l'Alpe * Col de l'Alpette * Col des Ayes *Col de Charmille *

Col des Émeindras A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

*Col de la Faîta * Col de Bellefond *Col de Léchaud * Col de la Ruchère *Col de la Sure *Col de la Grande Vache *Col de la Petite Vache *Col du Baure

Main canyons

Canyons of the Chartreuse Mountains include : * Gorges du Guiers Vif * Gorges du Guiers Mort * Gorges du Ténaison * Gorges de la Vence * Gorge du Manival * Gorges de l'Echaillon * Gorges du Cozon Rau

Main plateaux

Plateaux of the Chartreuse Mountains include : * Plateau des Petites Roches * Plateau du Grand-Ratz

Main Caves

The main caves in the Chartreuse include : *,
long, deep. * Réseau de la Dent de Crolles - about long, deep. * Système du Granier, long, deep. * Réseau de malissard, long, deep. * Système Pinet-Brouillard, long, deep.

Geology

The lithology is dominated by

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, and several hundred kilometres of

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

passages lie beneath the hills, including the world-famous 60 km long

system.

Winter sports resorts

Chartreuse winter sports resorts include : * Le Désert d'Entremont, where the use of

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

s has been particularly developed * Granier en Chartreuse * Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse and Le Planolet * Saint-Hugues-de-Chartreuse * Col de Porte *

Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse (, ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The com ...

* La Ruchère (

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

) * Saint-Hilaire-du-Touvet * Col de Marcieu * Col du Coq

Environment

* The Parc Naturel Régional de la Chartreuse was founded in May 1995. * The Réserve Naturelle des Hauts de Chartreuse was founded in 1997. It includes seven

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

townships and four

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

townships.

Miscellaneous

The Chartreuse Mountains gave their name to the monastery of the

Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse () is the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse (Isère), France. History Originally, the c ...

, the monastic

Carthusian Order The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin Church, Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rul ...

takes its name from these mountains, where its first hermitage was founded in 1084. Also derived from the mountain range's name is that of the alcoholic cordial

Chartreuse Chartreuse () may refer to: Common meanings * Chartreuse (liqueur), a French liqueur * Chartreuse (color), a yellow-green color named after the liqueur * Grande Chartreuse, the original Carthusian monastery Other uses * Chartreuse (dish), a ...

produced by the monks since the 1740s, and of the chartreuse colour,

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

ish

hue In color theory, hue is one of the properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as ...

of the Chartreuse liqueur, named after the drink.

References

External links

Chartreuse: A Walking GuideA Wiki-Walks guide to some less well known hiking routes in the Chartreuse
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountains of Isère Mountains of Savoie