Dauphiné Prealps

The Dauphiné Prealps (Préalpes du Dauphiné in French) are a mountain range in the south-western part of the Alps. They are located in Rhône-Alpes and, marginally, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (south-eastern France). Dauphiné Prealps are the central section of the French Prealps.

Dauphiné Prealps
Préalpes du Dauphiné
Highest point
PeakGrande Tête de l'Obiou
Elevation2,790 m (9,150 ft)[1]
Coordinates44°46′31″N 5°50′22″E
Geography
Dauphiné Prealps (section nr.6) within Western Alps
CountryFrance
RégionRhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
RiversDrac, Durance, Isère and Drôme
Parent rangeAlps
Borders onProvence Alps and Prealps, Dauphiné Alps and Savoy Prealps
Geology
OrogenyAlpine orogeny
Type of rockSedimentary rocks[2]

Etymology

The Dauphiné (pronounced [dofine]) is a historical region whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme, and Hautes-Alpes.

Geography

Administratively the French part of the range belongs to the French departments of Isère, Drôme, Hautes-Alpes and, marginally, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The whole range is drained by the Rhone river.

SOIUSA classification

According to SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain range is an Alpine section, classified in the following way:[3]

  • Main part = Western Alps
  • Major sector = South Western Alps
  • Section = Dauphiné Prealps
  • Code = I/A-6

Borders

Dauphiné Prealps' borders are (anticlockwise):

Subdivision

The Dauphiné Prealps are divided into five Alpine subsections:[3]

Notable summits

The Grand Veymont in winter

Some notable summits of the range are:

Namemetresfeet
Grande Tête de l'Obiou2,7909,148
Grand Ferrand2,7599,049
Pic de Bure2,7098,885
Jocou2,5018,203
Grand Veymont2,3467,694

Notable passes

Col Bayard, 1,248 m

Some notable passes of the range are:

Name location type elevation (m) elevation (ft)
Col de la Croix Haute Clelles to Lus-la-Croix-Haute road1,1793,867
Col Bayard Gap to Grenoble road1,2484,093
Col du Noyer Le Noyer to Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy road1,6645,458

References

  1. Highest summit elevation as reported on Géoportail of Institut Géographique National
  2. Préalpes, article on Larousse encyclopedia (on line version:www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie)
  3. Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.

Maps

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.