The Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

located in the

Aiguilles Rouges The Aiguilles Rouges ("Red Needles") are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc Massif. The colour of the iron rich gneiss (metamorphique) mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Aigu ...

mountain range in the Haute-Savoie department in southeastern France.

Localisation

In the Haute-Savoie department, on the northern side of the

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

valley, the Aiguilles Rouges mountain range spreads from

Les Houches Les Houches () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Eastern France. In 2017, it had a population of 2,943. Overview Les Houches, located 6 kilometres from Chamonix, is a ski resort with a domain wh ...

to the

Col des Montets Col des Montets (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Alps in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is on the road between Chamonix, the Swiss Col de la Forclaz and Martigny in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The pass is generall ...

. The nature reserve affects the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

of Chamonix and

Vallorcine Vallorcine () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 404. Geography Vallorcine is located in the Valley of the L'Eau Noire between the Col des Mon ...

and encompasses two complementary sectors of this mountain range: * the North-East extremity overlooking the

Argentière Argentière () is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, at an altitude of .Argentière Argentière () is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, at an altitude of .game reserve A game reserve (also known as a wildlife preserve or a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals live safely or are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; ...

. At the insistence of Jean Eyherald, the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

of Argentière, and a geologist, Yvonne Gubler, an observation site for the Alps was installed above Argentière. Accessible via

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

, it became difficult to access following an accident. A site at the Col des Montets (a mountain pass) was chosen. In 1971 with the support of

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

Maurice Herzog Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and ...

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

and

created ''la réserve intercommunale du col des Montets'' (Intercommunal reserve of the Col des Montets). The reserve was created by

ministerial decree A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are usually imposed under the authorit ...

on 1974-08-24. It covers in the communes of

and

. The nature reserve is managed by the ASTERS association, which is responsible for all the nature reserves in Haute-Savoie. Since 2006 the reserve has been under consideration for either declassification or reclassification, because of contention over a private landowner not being covered under the constitution in 1974. The reserve was reclassified on 2010-01-27 by a new ministerial decree, after a public inquiry. The nature reserve is adjacent to two others: * Vallon de Bérard National Nature Reserve, established in 1992 in Vallorcine * Carlaveyron National Nature Reserve, established in 1991, situated near the Gorges de la Diosaz in

In the reserve one can find typical mountainous plant and animal species, such as

Alpine ibex The Alpine ibex (''Capra ibex''), also known as the steinbock, bouquetin, or simply ibex, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. It is a sexually dimorphic species: males are larger and carry longer, curved ...

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 ...

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊ� ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

, ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

'', and heather. Multiple lakes are situated within the nature reserve, including Lac Blanc, Lac Noir, Lac Cornu, and Lac du Brévent.

Visitor information

An information cabin, open from the first of June to the fifteenth of September, is located at the Col des Montets and provides information to visitors about the alpine fauna and flora, activities, and scientific pursuits. A curving "discovery path" accesses the top of the pass, allowing a pleasant overview of the characteristic natural areas of the nature reserve, and more generally the Alps. The information cabin and the discovery path, both started in 1976, are the two elements central to the

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

of the reserve. Both are accessible to the general public and for this reason, the nature reserve is considered a success.

References

External links

*{{in lang, fr}
ASTERS Official Site
Nature reserves in France Geography of Haute-Savoie Protected areas established in 1974 Tourist attractions in Haute-Savoie