Jura Mountains - Physiography

Physiography

The Jura Mountains are a distinct physiographic province of the larger Central European uplands.

In France, the Jura covers most of the Franche-Comté region, stretching south into in the Rhône-Alpes region. The range reaches its highest point at Le Crêt de la Neige in the departments of Ain and finds its southern terminus in the northwestern part of the department of Savoie. The north end of the Jura extends into the southern tip of the Alsace region. Roughly 1,600 square kilometers of the mountain range in France is protected by the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park.

In Switzerland, the range covers the western border with France in the Cantons of Basel, Solothurn, Jura, Bern (i.e., Bernese Jura), Neuchâtel, Vaud, and the border with Germany in the canton of Schaffhausen. It also includes the Canton of Basel-Landschaft. The Swiss Jura has been industrialized since the 18th century and became a major center of the watchmaking industry. The area has several cities at very high altitudes, such as La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, and Sainte-Croix (renowned for its musical boxes), however, it generally has had a marked decline in population since 1960. The Swiss Jura is one of the three distinct geographical regions of Switzerland, the other being the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps.

In Germany, the Jura is lower in altitude, stretching into Bavaria in the Swabian and Franconian plateaus.