The Northern Vosges, also known as the Lower Sandstone Vosges, are a
low mountain range in northeastern
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 ...
located in the departments of
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...
and
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
on the border with
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
Geography
Situation
The Northern Vosges Massif, corresponding to the French part of
Wasgau
The Wasgau (, ) is a France, Franco-Germany, German Mountain range, hill range in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French departments of France, departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle (department), Moselle. It is formed from the south ...
, covers the extreme northeast of Moselle (the East of
Pays de Bitche
The Pays de Bitche (, literally ''Land of Bitche'', or ) is a natural region in the Moselle (departement), Moselle Departments of France, department of the Grand Est region of France. It corresponds to the present French part of the former princ ...
) and the northwest of Bas-Rhin (especially the East of
Alsace bossue). It is considered the northernmost part of the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium 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 ...
and is located north of the
Col de Saverne, which separates it from the Central Vosges. To the north, it is naturally extended beyond the
German border by the
Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
massif. It is bordered to the west by the and to the east by the
Alsatian natural regions of
Outre-Forêt and .
Geology
The Northern Vosges Massif consists of a
monoclinal tilted to the northeast and is mainly composed of Buntsandstein
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
(colorful sandstone dating from 245 to 230 million years ago). This sandstone is visible on the high points and takes the form of rugged rocks and stacks (a characteristic utilized in the construction of numerous castles in the Middle Ages).
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park
The Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord'') is a protected area of woodland, wetland, farmland and historical sites in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. The area was officially d ...
*
Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
Vosges