Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, 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 a diverse range of alpine land types and uses.

Geography

The Belledonne range is approximately long by between wide and runs from roughly , south-south-east of the city of Grenoble, in a north-easterly direction (actually 35 degrees) for to roughly , near the town of

Aiguebelle Aiguebelle (; frp, Égouabèla) is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-d'Arc.Grand Pic de Belledonne The Grand Pic de Belledonne is the highest mountain in the Belledonne massif in the Dauphiné Alps at .

, . The range is delineated by several valleys which lie at relatively low altitude, including the Grésivaudan Valley (which carries the

Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

, and many alpine lakes, the highest of which is over 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 A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

range. It initiated as a Paleozoic peneplain which was covered by Mesozoic

sediments Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

, then raised and tilted during 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: link=no, Grésivaudan) which lies only above sea level near Grenoble. Hence, all alpine vegetation zones are represented: * Hill zone: coppices of

Downy oak ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

on South facing slopes (french: link=no, adret),

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

, common maple. *

Montane zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

: beech, birch, aspen, English oak, sycamore maple, goat willow, then fir and spruce. * Subalpine zone: moors and sparse stands of spruce, mugho pine, stone pine, and silver birch. *

Alpine zone Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

: grassland, scree and rock. A significant feature is the

Belledonne Balcony Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, 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 th ...

(french: link=no, 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 is now effectively an upscale suburb of Grenoble.

Main summits

Main glaciers

The most spectacular glacier in Belledonne is the french: link=no, Glacier de Freydane, which is noted for its

crevasses A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pi ...

. *Glacier de la Sitre *Glacier de Freydane *Glacier de l'Amiante *Glacier du Rocher Blanc *Glacier de la Combe Madame *Glacier de l'Argentière *Glacier d'Arguille *Glacier du Puy Gris *Glacier du Gleyzin *Glacier de Claran

Main passes

No road cuts across Belldonne. The

Pas de la Coche PAS or Pas may refer to: Companies and organizations * Pakistan Academy of Sciences * Pakistan Administrative Service * Pan Am Southern, a freight railroad owned by Norfolk Southern and Pan Am Railways * Pan American Silver, a mining company in ...

pass, between Belledonne proper and the 7 Laux range, is the only natural break point in the range, and is the only point below on the Belledonne ridge (the main water divide between the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .Joseph Paganon Joseph Paganon (19 March 1880 – 2 November 1937) was a French chemical engineer and politician. He was Minister of Public Works in 1933–34, and for a few days in 1935. He helped provide infrastructure needed by the alpine tourist industry in ...

, a minister in several French governments, pushed for linking Laval to the Rivier-d'

Allemond Allemond (; spelled Allemont by the local council) is a commune in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Allemondins'' or ''Allemondines'' Geography Alle ...

by road through the Pas de la Coche. That roadwork started but eventually stopped after Paganon's death at an elevation of on 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 Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) 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. Location The Mau ...

valley via the Glandon pass. Hannibal may have passed the Pas de la Coche when he crossed the Alps with his army.

Main lakes

Lac noir and lac blanc in grande Valloire valley

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.

Ski resorts

There are 4 main ski resorts in Belledonne, from South to North: *

Chamrousse Chamrousse () is a ski resort in southeastern France, in the Belledonne mountain range near Grenoble in the Isère department. It is located in a commune of the same name and is situated on the Recoin at and the Roche Béranger at . The ski- ...

* Le Collet d'Allevard * Les Sept Laux * L'Espace Nordique du Barioz

Origin of the name

The origin of 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 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.

Fauna

The mountains are home to marmots,

chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the R ...

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

mountain goats and

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondri ...

. 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.

Gallery

File:Sunset on Grand Pic de Belledonne.jpg, Sunset on Grand Pic de Belledonne File:Moonrise on Grand Pic de Belledonne.jpg, Moonrise on Grand Pic de Belledonne File:Grand Pic de Belledonne.jpg, Grand Pic de Belledonne seen from the West File:Grand Pic De Belledonne.jpg, Clouds clear up and reveal Grand Pic de Belledonne

References

The Alps Geology site is an excellent source for geological information on the Belledonne Range and on all of the French Alps. {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes