Massif Central

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France, viewed from the NASA Shuttle Topography Radar Mission. The Massif Central is visible as a large red mass in the mid-southern part of the country. On the southeastern border with Italy are the Alps and on the southwestern border with Spain are the Pyrenees.

The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus.

Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,000 years, these central mountains are separated from the Alps by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rhône River and known in French as the sillon rhodanien (literally "the furrow of the Rhône").

Administration

The following départements are generally considered as part of the Massif Central: Allier, Ardèche, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Loire, Haute-Vienne, Loire, Lot, Lozère, and Puy-de-Dôme.

The following régions are part of the Massif Central: Auvergne, Limousin. Part of the following régions are in the Massif Central: Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées, and Rhône-Alpes.

The largest cities are Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Étienne.

Mountains include

• Puy de Sancy (1886 m)
• Plomb du Cantal (1855 m)
• Puy Mary (1787 m)
• Mont Lozère (1702 m), the highest non-volcanic summit
• Mont Aigoual (1567 m), near Le Vigan
• Puy de Dôme (1464 m)

Mont Aigoual 1567 m

Plateaus include

• Larzac
• Plateau de Millevaches

See also

• Geography of France