The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a
sub-alpine
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...
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 arise ...
a short distance north of the
Western Alps
The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...
and mainly demarcate a long part of the
French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper ("
folded Jura", ''Faltenjura'') is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues as the
Table Jura
The so-called Table Jura (also ''Plateau Jura''; German: ''Tafeljura'', French: ''le Jura tabulaire'') is the northeastern extension of the Jura Mountains. It stands in opposition to the folded Jura (''Faltenjura'') of the Jura range proper.
...
("not folded Jura", ''Tafeljura'') northeastwards through northern Switzerland and Germany.
Name
The mountain range gives its name to the
French department
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...
of
Jura, the Swiss
Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capita ...
, the
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
of the geologic timescale, and the
Montes Jura
Montes Jura is a mountain range in the northwest part of the near side of the Moon. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 47.1° N 34.0° W. It has a diameter of 422 km, with mountains rising to approximately 3800m above the level o ...
of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
It is first attested as ''mons Iura'' in book one of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
's ''
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
''.
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
uses a Greek masculine form ''ὁ Ἰόρας'' ("through the Jura mountains", ''διὰ τοῦ Ἰόρα ὄρους'') in his ''Geographica'' (4.6.11). Based on suggestions by
Ferdinand de Saussure
Ferdinand de Saussure (; ; 26 November 1857 – 22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is widel ...
, early
celticist
Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histor ...
s such as Georges Dottin tried to establish an etymon "iura-, iuri" as a Celtic word for mountains, with similar putative etymologies (e.g. *''juris'', "mountainous forest") still appearing in more recent non-academic publications. However, since there are no clear cognates in the surviving corpus of the Celtic languages, modern studies of Proto-Celtic and Gaulish etymology tend not to list any lemmata connected to Jura, and the name must be considered fundamentally unclear.
Physiography
The Jura Mountains are a far province of the larger
Central European uplands
The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...
. The Jura range proper lies in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
In France, the Jura covers most of the
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
region, stretching south into the
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône an ...
region and north into the
Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...
region. The range reaches its highest point at the
Crêt de la Neige
Le Crêt de la Neige is the highest peak in the Jura Mountains and the department of Ain in France. Its elevation is 1720 m above sea level (reported as 1718 m before 2003). Its prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to ...
(), in department of
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
, 5km west from the Swiss border of the
canton of Geneva
The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...
, and finds its southern terminus in the northwestern part of the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
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 of ...
. The north end of the Jura extends into the southern tip of
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
(
Sundgau
Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt- gowe'' ("South shire"), denoting an Alemannic county in the Old Hi ...
). Roughly of the mountain range in France is protected by the
Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park.
![Schweiz-Französischer-Jura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Schweiz-Franz%C3%B6sischer-Jura.png)
The Swiss Jura is one of the three distinct geographical regions of Switzerland, the others being the
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
and the
Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
. Most of the range covers the western border with France. In Switzerland, the Jura Mountains extend over an area covering (from northeast to southwest) the
cantons of
Zurich,
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
,
Basel-Landschaft
Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...
,
Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...
,
Jura,
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
(i.e.,
Bernese Jura
Bernese Jura (french: Jura bernois, ) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton.
Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the ...
),
Neuchâtel
, neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier
, twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...
,
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
, and
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. The easternmost mountain of the Jura range proper is the
Lägern
The Lägern (also spelled ''Lägeren''; 866 m) is a wooded mountain of the Jura Mountains, stretching from Baden to Dielsdorf, about 15 km north-west of Zurich. The culminating point is located 1 km west of Hochwacht within the canton o ...
, situated east of the Aare river. Much of the Swiss Jura region has no historical association with
Early Modern Switzerland
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy (''Eidgenossenschaft'', also known as the "Swiss Republic" or ''Republica Helvetiorum'') and its constituent Thirteen Cantons encompasses the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648 ...
and was incorporated as part of the Swiss Confederacy only in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a movement for
Jura separatism
Jura separatism (french: séparatisme jurassien) is a regionalist autonomist movement in the Bernese Jura of Switzerland.
The "Jura question" (french: question jurassienne, links=no; german: Jurafrage, links=no) is the question of secession ...
developed which resulted in the creation of the Canton of Jura in 1979.
The east of the Jura range proper
separates
''Separates'' is the second album by English punk rock band 999, released in 1978. ''Separates'' was released in the United States under the title ''High Energy Plan'', with a different cover and slightly altered track listing; on ''High Energ ...
the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
and
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
basins
Basin may refer to:
Geography and geology
* Depression (geology)
** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones
** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow
** Drainage basin (hydrology), a ...
. The northern and eastern part of the range drains towards the Rhine river and its tributaries
Aare
The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.
Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descend ...
and
Ill ILL may refer to:
* ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom
* Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland
* Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility
* Interlibrar ...
, whereas the western and southern parts drain towards the Rhône river and its (sub)tributaries
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.[Saône
The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île.
The name deri ...]
, and
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
. Initially the river Doubs (a subtributary of the Rhône) flows about northeast, briefly venturing into Switzerland, then changing direction and flowing about southwest before joining the Saône ca. north of the French city of
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. In Lyon, the Saône joins the Rhône. While the Rhine flows into the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, the Rhône flows into the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
.
The highest peaks of the Jura Mountains are:
*
Crêt de la Neige
Le Crêt de la Neige is the highest peak in the Jura Mountains and the department of Ain in France. Its elevation is 1720 m above sea level (reported as 1718 m before 2003). Its prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to ...
,
*
Le Reculet
Le Reculet is the second-highest peak in the Jura Mountains, with an elevation of 1718 metres. It is located in the Ain department of France.IGN map on Géoportail (in French), as of July 18, 2007 It is a few kilometres south of the Crêt de la ...
,
*
Colomby de Gex,
*
Mont Tendre
Mont Tendre is a mountain of the Jura, located between the valley of Joux and the basin of Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. With an elevation of 1,679 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit of the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountain ...
,
*
La Dôle,
Northeast, the Jura range proper (known as "folded Jura", ''Faltenjura'') is continued as the
Table Jura
The so-called Table Jura (also ''Plateau Jura''; German: ''Tafeljura'', French: ''le Jura tabulaire'') is the northeastern extension of the Jura Mountains. It stands in opposition to the folded Jura (''Faltenjura'') of the Jura range proper.
...
(''Tafeljura''). The Table Jura ranges (from southwest to northeast) across the Swiss cantons of
Basel-Landschaft
Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...
,
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
, and
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
(
Randen
Randen may refer to:
* Randen (mountain range), in Switzerland and Germany
* Randen, a tram line of the Keifuku Electric Railroad in Japan
See also
* Randens
{{Geodis ...
), and the southern
German states of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
and
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
(as Klettgau Jura,
Baar Jura, and the
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
n and
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
n plateaus).
Geology
The range is built up vertically while decreasing in size laterally (along a rough northwest–southeast line). This deformation accommodates the compression from alpine folding as the main
Alpine orogenic front moves roughly northwards. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the younger, more active Alpine mountain building.
The geologic folds comprise three major bands (
lithological
The lithology of a Rock (geology), rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core sample, core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain ...
units) of building that date from three
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...
s: the Lias (
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...
), the Dogger (
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations co ...
) and the Malm (
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
)
geologic period
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...
s. Each era of folding reveals effects of previously shallow marine environments as evidenced by beds with
carbonate
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...
sequences, containing abundant
bioclast
Bioclasts are skeletal fossil fragments of once living marine or land organisms that are found in sedimentary rocks laid down in a marine environment—especially limestone varieties around the globe. some of which take on distinct textures and col ...
s and
oolitic divisions between layers (called horizons).
Structurally, the Jura consists of a sequence of geologic folds, the formation of which is facilitated by an
evaporitic decollement layer. The box folds are still relatively young, which is evident by the general shape of the
landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
showing that they have not existed long enough to experience
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
, thus revealing recent mountain building.
Tourism
The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing. There are many signposted trails including the
Jura ridgeway
The Jura ridgeway is a long-distance hiking trail along the Jura mountain range in Switzerland. It starts in Dielsdorf
Dielsdorf is a municipality, seat of the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Dielsdorf ...
, a hiking route.
Tourist attractions in the Swiss Jura include natural features such as the
Creux du Van
The Creux du Van is a natural rocky cirque approximately 1,400 metres wide and 150 metres deep, on the north side of Le Soliat, in the Val de Travers district in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. A very well known, amphitheatre-shaped na ...
, lookout peaks such as the
Chasseral
The Chasseral is a mountain of the Jura Mountains, overlooking Lake Biel in the Swiss canton of Bern. With an elevation of 1,606 metres above sea level, the Chasseral is the highest summit in the canton of Bern outside the Alps. It is also both th ...
, caves such as the
Grottes de l'Orbe, as well as
gorges such as
Taubenloch
Taubenloch (French: Gorges du Taubenloch) is a gorge in the Canton of Bern, above Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. It crosses the first Jura Mountain chain, as considered from the Swiss Plateau.
Location
The gorge covers a length of around 2 kilometr ...
. The Swiss Jura has been industrialized since the 18th century and became a major centre of the
watchmaking
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...
industry. The area has several cities at very high altitudes, such as
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...
,
Le Locle
Le Locle (; german: Luggli) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switz ...
and
Sainte-Croix (renowned for its
musical box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...
es); however, it generally has had a marked decline in population since 1960. Both Le Locle and its geographical twin town La Chaux-de-Fonds are recognised as an UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
for their
horological
Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clo ...
and related cultural past.
In the French Jura, the 11th-century
Fort de Joux
The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a castle, later transformed into a fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux in the Doubs department in the Jura mountains of France. It commands the mountain pass ''Cluse de Pontarlier''.
History
The Château ...
, famously remodeled and strengthened by
Vauban in 1690 and subsequently by other military engineers, is situated on a natural rock outcropping in the middle of the range not far from
Pontarlier
Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France near the Swiss border.
History
Pontarlier occupies the ancient Roman station of ...
. Part of the
A40 autoroute
The Autoroute A40 is a motorway in France that extends from Mâcon on the west to Passy on the east, terminating not far from Chamonix and the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The road runs through Bresse, the high southern Jura Mountains, northern Prealps a ...
crosses through a portion of the southern Jura between
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ...
and
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine (, literally ''Bellegarde on Valserine''; frp, Bèlagouârda) is a former commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 11,326. On 1 January 2019, i ...
, which is known as the "Highway of the Titans".
See also
References
External links
*
*
{{Portal bar, Geography, Mountains, France, Switzerland
Geological type localities
Jurassic geology
Mountain ranges of Switzerland
Physiographic provinces
Mountain ranges of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Mountain ranges of Grand Est