1.
Grand Veymont
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It has a prominence of 1165 metres and an isolation of 26.88 kilometres. It is situated between le Pas de la Ville to the north and le Pas des Chattons to the south, and is part of the eastern edge of the high plateau of the Massif du Vercors. It is preceded to the north by le Rocher de Séguret, Roche Rousse, due to its location in the Parc du Vercors, it is far from any paved road. A moderately easy route to the summit involves walking about 10 km, the limestone cliffs evident on the eastern face of the Grand Veymont are composed of Glandasse or Urgonian limestone of Lower Barremian age, laid down between 125 and 130 million years ago. The bedding planes dip at roughly 30°, the angle of the western slopes, in the last ice age, a glacial tongue descended from the north-eastern slopes into the valley of Gresse-en-Vercors, depositing a glacial moraine which is visible today to the west of the village. However, there is no longer any permanent ice or snow on le Grand Veymont, on 10 February 2007, a twin-engine light aircraft flying from London to Cannes disappeared in a snowstorm over le Grand Veymont, crashing into the mountainside and killing all three people aboard
2.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
5.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
6.
Plateau
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Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Magma rises from the mantle, causing the ground to swell upward, in way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted. Plateaus can also be built up by lava spreading outward from cracks, plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus, volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern United States is an example, dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment, intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world, bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one such plateau, Piedmont plateaus are bordered on one side by mountains and on the other by a plain or a sea. The Piedmont Plateau of the Eastern United States between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain is an example, continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. The Tibetan plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km2, the plateau is sufficiently high enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south. The second-highest plateau is the Deosai Plateau of the Deosai National Park at an elevation of 4,114 m. It is located in the Astore and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Deosai means the land of giants. The park protects an area of 3,000 km2 and it is known for its rich flora and fauna of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion. In spring it is covered by sweeps of wildflowers and a variety of butterflies. The highest point in Deosai is Deosai Lake, or Sheosar Lake from the Shina language meaning Blind lake near the Chilim Valley. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,142 m, one of the highest lakes in the world, and is 2.3 km long,1.8 km wide, and 40 m deep on average. Some other major plateaus in Asia are, Armenian Highlands, Iranian plateau, Anatolian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau, and the Deccan Plateau. This polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation sound measurements of ice thickness have shown that parts of the Antarctic dry land surface have been pressed below sea level. Thus, if that same ice cap were removed, the large areas of the frozen white continent would be flooded by the surrounding Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean
7.
Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
8.
French Prealps
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The French Prealps are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps. In the southern regions, the ranges are generally disorganized and lack the wide. Three non-contiguous ranges traditionally comprise the southern French Prealps, the Alpilles, Mont Sainte-Victoire, roger Frison-Roche, Les montagnes de la terre
9.
Drac (river)
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The Drac is a 130-kilometre long river in southeastern France. It is a tributary of the river Isère. It is formed at the confluence of the Drac Noir and the Drac Blanc and it flows through several reservoirs on its course, including the Lac de Monteynard-Avignonet. It flows into the Isère at Grenoble and its major tributary is the Romanche. The catchment area of the river is 3,550 square kilometres, the name Drac, originally the Drau, is due to an attraction by the occitan drac imp, which is derived from the Latin dracō, meaning Dragon. It is documented in the forms of Dracum, Dravus and the ribière dou Drau, in many legends the drac, in Occitan, is a genius of evil waters or a form of Satan that attracts children to drown. Frédéric Mistral wrote in Félibrige Treasury, In December 1995, six children and they were there to see beavers. Http, //www. geoportail. fr The Drac at the Sandre database
10.
Cliff
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In geography and geology, a cliff is a vertical, or nearly vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms by the processes of weathering, Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually formed by rock that is resistant to weathering, sedimentary rocks most likely to form cliffs include sandstone, limestone, chalk, and dolomite. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt also often form cliffs, an escarpment is a type of cliff, formed by the movement of a geologic fault or a landslide. Most cliffs have some form of slope at their base. In arid areas or under high cliffs, they are generally exposed jumbles of fallen rock, in areas of higher moisture, a soil slope may obscure the talus. Many cliffs also feature tributary waterfalls or rock shelters, sometimes a cliff peters out at the end of a ridge, with tea tables or other types of rock columns remaining. Coastal erosion may lead to the formation of sea cliffs along a receding coastline, the Ordnance Survey distinguishes between cliffs and outcrops. Cliff is a Romance loanword that has its origins in the Latin forms clivus / clevus. Given that a cliff need not be vertical, there can be ambiguity about whether a given slope is a cliff or not. For example, given a vertical rock wall above a very steep slope. Listings of cliffs are thus inherently uncertain, some of the largest cliffs on Earth are found underwater. For example, an 8,000 m drop over a 4,250 m span can be found at a ridge sitting inside the Kermadec Trench. One candidate for highest cliff in the world is Nanga Parbats Rupal Face, according to other sources, the highest cliff in the world, about 1,340 m high, is the east face of Great Trango in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan. The location of the worlds highest sea cliffs depends also on the definition of cliff that is used, guinness World Records states it is Kalaupapa, Hawaii, at 1,010 m high. Another contender is the face of Mitre Peak, which drops 1,683 m to Milford Sound. These are subject to a less stringent definition, as the slope of these cliffs at Kaulapapa is about 1.7, corresponding to an angle of 60 degrees. A more vertical drop into the sea can be found at Maujit Qaqarssuasia which is situated in the Torssukátak fjord area at the tip of South Greenland
11.
Grenoble
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Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère, the city advertises itself as the Capital of the Alps, due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. Grenobles history goes back more than 2,000 years, to a time when it was a small Gallic village, industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble, through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. The city has grown to be one of Europes most important research, technology, the population of the city of Grenoble was 160,215 at the 2013 census, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area was 664,832. The residents of the city are called Grenoblois, the many communes that make up the metropolitan area include three suburbs with populations exceeding 20,000, Saint-Martin-dHères, Échirolles, and Fontaine. For the ecclesiastical history, see Bishopric of Grenoble, the first references to Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at time a little Gallic village founded by the Allobroges tribe near a bridge across the Isère River. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late Roman empire, the Emperor Gratian visited Cularo and, touched by the peoples welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis in 381, Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the diocese of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city, until the French Revolution, they styled themselves the bishops and princes of Grenoble. Arletian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 due to Arabic rule based in Fraxinet, Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. At the time, their possessions were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region, the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later took the title of Dauphins, Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné, despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh, under his rule, the citys bridge was rebuilt, and both a regular hospital and a leper one were built. The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights and that charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541. In 1336 the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the Conseil delphinal and he also established the University of Grenoble in 1339. Aging and heirless, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, the first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a province of France, the only Dauphin who really governed his province was Louis XI, whose reign lasted from 1447 to 1456
12.
Villard-de-Lans
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Villard-de-Lans is a commune in the Isère department of the Auvergne-Rhones-Alpes region in southeastern France. The town is situated in the Vercors Massif. It was the centre of the eponymous canton until the departmental elections of 2015. After the elections, Villard-de-Lans and the communes of its former canton were all incorporated into the new Fontaine-Vercors canton, the town remains the seat of the Community of Communes in the Vercors Massif. The town is a centre for skiing in winter, as well as hiking and it is also the town with the largest amount of available lodging in the entire Vercors Regional Natural Park. Starting in 1906, the town of Villard-de-Lans was recognized as a ski resort, more facilities were built during the 1920s that allowed the town to host its first bobsled and luge competition in 1931. For over a decade, the town was connected to the centre of Grenoble by a tram called the Tramway Grenoble - Villard-de-Lans. The tram, which serviced the towns of Lans-en-Vercors and Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte, had completely seized operations by 1949. During World War II, Villard-de-Lans was host to the only Polish high school in Occupied Europe, there is a plaque on the old building memorializing the names of the numerous students and teachers were deported to camps by the occupying force during the war. The region was home to several thousand Poles, people in hiding, military defectors and evaders, after the war, Charles de Gaulle paid hommage to the fighters of the Vercors by visiting Villard-de-Lans in 1948. During the 1968 Winter Olympics held in neighbouring Grenoble, Villard-de-Lans played host to the luge events, costing FRF3,190,000 to complete, the Olympic luge track was completed using 1,400 cubic metres of earthwork and 1,800 cubic metres of reinforced concrete. The facility had three houses,132 lighting posts, telephone circuitry,40 loudspeakers, and a signalling system for the competitors. No turn names are given for the track, data from the womens singles or mens doubles also not given. Villard-de-Lans has many options to participate in Winter Sports including, Côte 2000 - ski resort with 50 runs and 18 lifts. Site nordique du Haut Vercors - Nordic skiing area Luge and Ski-Parc de la Colline des Bains - small hill which is used for young skiers just starting out, as well as for sledding. Villard-de-Lans is twinned with, Mikołajki, Poland Communes of the Isère department Parc naturel régional du Vercors INSEE statistics Official site Town tourism site Photographs
13.
Autrans
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Autrans is a former commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Autrans-Méaudre-en-Vercors, at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, it hosted the biathlon, cross country skiing, Nordic combined, and the ski jumping normal hill events. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Autranais or Autranaises, the commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Autrans is located on the Vercors Plateau in the Vercors Regional Natural Park some 10 km west of Grenoble and 11 km east of Vinay. Access to the commune is solely by the D106C which branches north from the D106, a local road goes north from the village along to the valley to the ski fields in the north of the commune. There is farmland in the valley but the slopes of the mountains are rugged. The Meaudret rises in the north of the commune and flows south down the valley through the village, bus line 5120 connects Lans-en-Vercors and Villard-de-Lans stops in Autrans village and Méaudre. There is a bus in winter from the village to the ski fields. There are two hiking trails crossing the commune, municipality is crossed by the GR9, the GR footpath. The name Autrans is derived from the name of a village called Lans and originated from oultre-Lans meaning beyond the village of Lans which, the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble included cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski-jumping and combined Nordic skiing. For many French people the TV images of Nordic skiing at Autrans were a revelation and this would mark the beginning of the development of skiing in France and throughout Europe, The Grenoble Olympic Winter Games 1968 ski-jumps were part of a long local tradition of ski jumping. Today jumps of 90 m,56 m, and 20 m are equipped to be used in winter, there is a viewing platform at the top of the 90 m ramp. In 2010 the commune had 1,702 inhabitants, the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Population Change Sources, Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 Alpine ski area, a field of Sure. Nordic ski area, cross country skiing, snowshoeing - the French capital of Nordic skiing, the economy is mainly based on tourism. Tourism in the early 21st century focused primarily on the healthy climate, in the early 1900s there were nearly 130 farms. Today there are 17 farms including 13 dairy farms in Autrans, milk production is transformed into the Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage AOC in Col Vert, Brique, Saint Marcellin
14.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
15.
Maquis du Vercors
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The Maquis du Vercors was a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior resistance that fought the 1940–1944 German occupation of France in World War II. The Maquis du Vercors used the prominent scenic plateau known as the Massif du Vercors as a refuge, many members of the maquis, known as maquisards, died fighting in 1944 in the Vercors Plateau. From 16 to 24 April 1944 the Milice attacked the village of Vassieux, burning several farms, nevertheless, the local population continued to support the Resistance movement. In his BBC speech, de Gaulle pronounced the famous line le chamois des Alpes bondit which signalled the 4,000 maquisards to begin the uprising. The Maquis returned to the traditional style of petite guerre, engaging in harassment. Reserve-Division of the Wehrmacht,4 reserve mountain light infantry battalions,2 reserve infantry battalions,2 reserve artillery batteries, other units, Kampfgruppe « Zabel »,3 Ost-Bataillonen, about 200 Feldgendarmen,1 security battalion,1 police battalion, about 400 paratroopers. According to Peter Lieb, two crashed and eight of them landed a bit further on, so the first wave of assault consisted only of about a hundred soldiers. Peter Lieb spécifies that the Kommandeur der Sipo-SD of Lyon, SS-Obersturmbannführer Werner Knab, was airborne on Vassieux on 21 July. Shot and wounded, he was evacuated in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch on 24 July and he would have played an important part in the torture and the slaughter of the Maquisards of Vercors and the inhabitants of Vassieux. On 23 July 1944,3 Go-242 gliders, towed by bombers Heinkel-111, and 20 DFS-230 gliders transported one Ost-Kompanie, thomas and Ketley wrote that the Fallschirm-Kampfgruppe « Schäfer » was detached from Kampfgeschwader 200 on 8 June 1944. It was made up of volunteers out of Fallschirmjäger-Bewährungstruppe, mustered at Tangerhütte, günther Gellermann says that the Fallschirm-Kampfgruppe « Schäfer » was under Luftflotte 3 command and no longer under Kampfgeschwader 200 command. This followed the declaration of freedom from the German occupation in some towns, on 3 July 1944 the Free Republic of Vercors was proclaimed, the first democratic territory in France since the beginning of the German occupation in 1940. The Free Republic had its own flag, i. e. the French Republic tricolour featuring the Cross of Lorraine and the V for Vercors and Victory, and its coat of arms and it was a short-lived regime, it ceased to exist before the end of the month. Maquisards appealed to Free French agencies based in London and Algiers to supply them with arms and heavier weaponry to counter the German action. We shall not forget the bitterness of having been abandoned alone and without support in time of battle, the battle and the maquisards of Vercors also prominently feature in Frank Yerbys 1974 novel The Voyage Unplanned. French director Jean-Paul Le Chanoi made Au Coeur de lOrage, a documentary about the French Resistance during the Second World War, the movie, composed of Allied clandestine film recordings and German newsreel, focuses on the battle of the Vercors Plateau during July 1944. Four young Europeans meet with historians and witnesses of our past… They investigate the events of the Second World War in Germany, in France and in Russia. Maquis des Glières Maquis du Mont Mouchet French Resistance Free French Forces French Forces of the Interior Liberation of Paris List of French possessions and colonies
16.
French Resistance
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The Résistance also planned, coordinated, and executed acts of sabotage on the electrical power grid, transport facilities, and telecommunications networks. Estimated to have a strength of 100,000 in June 1944 and this burden amounted to approximately 20 million German reichsmarks per day, a sum that, in May 1940, was approximately equivalent to four hundred million French francs. Because of this overvaluation of German currency, the occupiers were able to make fair and honest requisitions and purchases while, in effect. Prices soared, leading to food shortages and malnutrition, particularly among children, the elderly. The labour shortage was worsened by the fact that a number of the French were also held as prisoners of war in Germany. Beyond these hardships and dislocations, the occupation became increasingly unbearable, onerous regulations, strict censorship, incessant propaganda and nightly curfews all played a role in establishing an atmosphere of fear and repression. The sight of French women consorting with German soldiers infuriated many French men, as reprisals for Résistance activities, the authorities established harsh forms of collective punishment. For example, the militancy of communist resistance in August 1941 led to the taking of thousands of hostages from the general population. A typical policy statement read, After each further incident, a number, reflecting the seriousness of the crime, during the occupation, an estimated 30,000 French civilian hostages were shot to intimidate others who were involved in acts of resistance. In early 1943, the Vichy authorities established a paramilitary group and they worked alongside German forces that, by the end of 1942, were stationed throughout France. The group collaborated closely with the Nazis, and was the Vichy equivalent of the Gestapo security forces in Germany and their actions were often brutal and included torture and execution of Résistance suspects. After the liberation of France in the summer of 1944, the French executed many of the estimated 25,000 to 35,000 miliciens for their collaboration. Many of those who escaped arrest fled to Germany, where they were incorporated into the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen SS, the experience of the Occupation was a deeply psychologically disorienting one for the French as what was once familiar and safe become strange and threatening. Many Parisians could not get over the shock experienced when they first saw the huge swastika flags hanging over the Hôtel de Ville, Many résistants often spoke of some climax when they saw some intolerable act of injustice, after which they could not longer remain passive. Barthelt recalled, I recognized him only by his hat, only by his hat, I tell you and because I was waiting on the roadside to see him pass. I saw his face all right, but there was no skin on it, both his poor eyes had been closed into two purple and yellow bruises. In the beginning, resistance was limited to such as severing phone lines, vandalizing posters. Another form of resistance was underground newspapers like Musée de lHomme which circulated clandestinely, the Musée de lHomme was founded by two professors, Paul Rivet and the Russian émigré Boris Vildé in July 1940
17.
Karst
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Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves and it has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few to no rivers or lakes, the English word karst was borrowed from German Karst in the late 19th century. The German word came into use before the 19th century, according to the prevalent interpretation, the term is derived from the German name for the Karst region, a limestone plateau above the city of Trieste in the northern Adriatic. Scholars disagree, however, on whether the German word was borrowed from Slovene, the Slovene common noun kras was first attested in the 18th century, and the adjective form kraški in the 16th century. The Slovene words arose through metathesis from the reconstructed form *korsъ, ultimately, the word is of Mediterranean origin, believed to derive from some Romanized Illyrian base. It has been suggested that the word may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root karra- rock, the name may also be connected to the oronym Karsádios oros cited by Ptolemy, and perhaps also to Latin Carusardius. The development of karst occurs whenever acidic water starts to break down the surface of bedrock near its cracks, as the bedrock continues to degrade, its cracks tend to get bigger. As time goes on, these fractures will become wider, if this underground drainage system does form, it will speed up the development of karst formations there because more water will be able to flow through the region, giving it more erosive power. The carbonic acid that causes karstic features is formed as rain passes through the atmosphere picking up carbon dioxide, once the rain reaches the ground, it may pass through soil that can provide much more CO2 to form a weak carbonic acid solution, which dissolves calcium carbonate. The oxidation of sulfides leading to the formation of acid can also be one of the corrosion factors in karst formation. As oxygen -rich surface waters seep into deep anoxic karst systems, they bring oxygen, sulfuric acid then reacts with calcium carbonate, causing increased erosion within the limestone formation. This chain of reactions is, This reaction chain forms gypsum, the karstification of a landscape may result in a variety of large- or small-scale features both on the surface and beneath. On exposed surfaces, small features may include solution flutes, runnels, limestone pavement, medium-sized surface features may include sinkholes or cenotes, vertical shafts, foibe, disappearing streams, and reappearing springs. Large-scale features may include limestone pavements, poljes, and karst valleys, mature karst landscapes, where more bedrock has been removed than remains, may result in karst towers, or haystack/eggbox landscapes. Beneath the surface, complex underground systems and extensive caves. Some of the most dramatic of these formations can be seen in Thailands Phangnga Bay, calcium carbonate dissolved into water may precipitate out where the water discharges some of its dissolved carbon dioxide. Rivers which emerge from springs may produce tufa terraces, consisting of layers of calcite deposited over extended periods of time, in caves, a variety of features collectively called speleothems are formed by deposition of calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals
18.
Vercors Cave System
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The Vercors caves are a set of long, narrow caves situated in the Alps, in South-Eastern France. The caves are known for having the largest cave entrance in Europe, the caves are located in the limestone area in the Rhône-Alpes region, in the lower Alps. The caves are known to British explorers, since the expedition led by Ken Pierce in the early 1960s introduced them to the area. The total area with the caves extends to around 400 square miles with a depth of up to 1271 metres, the surrounding area around the caves is the largest karst area in Europe. The caves are formed because of the Cretaceous limestone throughout the caves, the caves passages are a mix of large, old and dry tunnels, full of calcite deposits with narrow streamways and waterfalls. There are specific sets of caves because of the geology of the area, in the north east the caves are regarded as very deep and very demanding in the grading system, especially considering the variable weather in the area. In the north west of the system, the caves are of current interest, as many new caving discoveries are being made, particularly in the Meaudre area, further south the caves vary in their characteristics, with systems in the Herbouilly Plateau being of different gradings. Probably the most famous and deepest cave in the region is the Gouffre Berger cave and this cave includes the narrow shafts, descending into the Grand Galerie, which itself is home to very large and very old stalagmites. This particular system follows the slope of the beds for 3 kilometres. Vercors Plateau Caves Vercors Caves. on google. com/maps
19.
Cross-country skiing
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Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is practiced as a sport and recreational activity, however. Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved, modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing, from which all skiing disciplines evolved, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and Telemark skiing. Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward or side-to-side in a skating motion and it is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes, including Northern Europe, Canada, Russia and regions in the United States. Competitive cross-country skiing is one of the Nordic skiing sports, Cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship are the two components of biathlon, ski-orienteering is a form of cross-country skiing, which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks. The word ski comes from the Old Norse word skíð which means stick of wood, Skiing started as a technique for traveling cross-country over snow on skis, starting almost five millennia ago with beginnings in Scandinavia. It may have practised as early as 600 BCE in Daxinganling. Early historical evidence includes Procopius description of Sami people as skrithiphinoi translated as ski running samis, birkely argues that the Sami people have practiced skiing for more than 6000 years, evidenced by the very old Sami word čuoigat for skiing. Egil Skallagrimssons 950 CE saga describes King Haakon the Goods practice of sending his tax collectors out on skis, the Gulating law stated that No moose shall be disturbed by skiers on private land. Cross-country skiing evolved from a means of transportation to being a world-wide recreational activity and sport. Early skiers used one long pole or spear in addition to the skis, the first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741. This combination has a long history among the Sami people, skis up to 280 cm have been produced in Finland, and the longest recorded ski in Norway is 373 cm. Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century and these troops were reportedly able to cover distances comparable to that of light cavalry. The garrison in Trondheim used skis at least from 1675, skis were used in military exercises in 1747. In 1799 French traveller Jacques de la Tocnaye recorded his visit to Norway in his travel diary, Norwegian immigrant Snowshoe Thompson transported mail by skiing across the Sierra Nevada between California and Nevada from 1856. In 1888 Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his team crossed the Greenland icecap on skis, Norwegian workers on the Buenos Aires - Valparaiso railway line introduced skiing in South America around 1890. In 1910 Roald Amundsen used skis on his South Pole Expedition, in 1902 the Norwegian consul in Kobe imported ski equipment and introduced skiing to the Japanese, motivated by the death of Japanese soldiers during a snow storm. An early record of a ski competition occurred in Tromsø,1843
20.
Afforestation
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Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially, forestation is the establishment of forest growth on areas that either had forest or lacked it. Reforestation and afforestation are categories of forestation, special tools, e. g. tree planting bar, are used to make planting of trees easier and faster. Gap dynamics is the pattern of plant growth that occurs following the creation of a forest gap, gap dynamics are a typical characteristic of temperate and tropical forests, and have a wide variety of causes and effects on forest life. In some places, forests need help to themselves because of environmental factors. For example, in zones, once forest cover is destroyed. Other factors include overgrazing by livestock, especially such as goats, cows. Together these may lead to desertification and the loss of topsoil, without soil, in some tropical areas, forest cover removal may result in a duricrust or duripan that effectively seal off the soil to water penetration and root growth. In many areas, reforestation is impossible because people are using the land, in other areas, mechanical breaking up of duripans or duricrusts is necessary, careful and continued watering may be essential, and special protection, such as fencing, may be needed. There is extensive and ongoing Amazon deforestation. )China has deforested most of its wooded areas. China reached the point where timber yields declined far below historic levels, although it has set official goals for reforestation, these goals are set over an 80-year time horizon and have not been significantly met by 2008. China is trying to correct these problems by projects as the Green Wall of China, a law promulgated in 1981 requires that every school student over the age of 11 plants at least one tree per year. As a result, China has the highest afforestation rate of any country or region in the world, however, the forest area per capita is still far lower than the international average. There has also been criticism regarding the effectiveness of planting so many trees especially in regions where they never grew prior. Studies reveal that the table of those areas is becoming deeper indicating significant water loss. India has witnessed an increase in the percentage of the land area under forest cover from 1950 to 2006. In 1950 around 40.48 million hectares was covered by forest, in 1980 it increased to 67.47 million hectares and in 2006 it was found to be 69 million hectares. 23% of India is covered by forest, the forests of India are grouped into 5 major categories and 16 types based on biophysical criteria
21.
Metropolitan France
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Metropolitan France, also known as European France, is the part of France in Europe. It comprises mainland France and nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, Overseas France is the collective name for the part of France outside Europe, French overseas regions, territories, collectivities, and the sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia. Metropolitan France and Overseas France together form the French Republic, Metropolitan France accounts for 82. 2% of the land territory,3. 3% of the exclusive economic zone, and 95. 9% of the population of the French Republic. The five overseas regions—Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, French Guiana, in overseas France, a person from metropolitan France is often called a métro, short for métropolitain. Similar terms existed to describe other European colonial powers and this usage of the words metropolis and metropolitan itself came from Ancient Greek metropolis, which was the name for a city-state from which originated colonies across the Mediterranean. By extension metropolis and metropolitan came to mean motherland, a nation or country as opposed to its colonies overseas, today there are some people in overseas France who object to the use of the term la France métropolitaine due to its colonial origins. They prefer to call it the European territory of France, as the Treaties of the European Union do, likewise, they oppose treating overseas France and metropolitan France as separate entities. As a result, since the end of the 1990s INSEE has included the five departments in its figures for France. Other branches of the French administration may have different definitions of what la France entière is, the World Bank refers to this as France only, and not the whole of France as INSEE does. According to the French government,64,860,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2017, Metropolitan France covers a land area of 551,695 km². At sea, the economic zone of metropolitan France covers 334,604 km², while the EEZ of overseas France covers 9,821,231 km². In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election,37,342,004 French people cast a ballot. 35,907,015 of these cast their ballots in metropolitan France,1,088,679 cast their ballots in overseas France, and 346,310 cast their ballots in foreign countries. The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies,539 of whom are elected in metropolitan France,27 in overseas France, and 11 by French citizens living in foreign countries. Mainland France, or just the mainland, does not include the French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel or Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, people from the mainland part of Metropolitan France are referred to as les continentaux. A casual synonym for the part of Metropolitan France is lHexagone, for its approximate shape. French colonial empire Mainland Wildlife of Metropolitan France
22.
Black grouse
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The black grouse or blackgame or blackcock is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland. The black grouse is closely related to the Caucasian grouse, the female is greyish-brown and has a cackling call. She takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for the chicks, the black grouses genome was sequenced in 2014. The black grouse is one of the species first described in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Both Tetrao and tetrix come from Ancient Greek words referring to some form of game bird, the male and female are sometimes referred to by their folk names, blackcock and greyhen respectively. These names first occur in the literature with John Ray in 1674, heathcock and Heathhen are also common names. Black grouse is a bird with males being around 53 centimetres long and weighing 1, 000–1,450 g and females approximately 40 cm. The cock is very distinctive, with black plumage, apart from red wattles and a white wingbar, and a lyre-shaped tail and his song is loud, bubbling and somewhat dove-like. Black grouse can be found across Europe from Great Britain through Scandinavia and Estonia into Russia, in Eastern Europe they can be found in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Romania and Ukraine. There is a population in the Alps, and isolated remnants in Germany, France, Belgium and it formerly occurred in Denmark, but the Danish Ornithological Society has considered it extinct since 2001. The species disappeared from Bulgaria in the 19th century, although this species is declining in western Europe, it is not considered to be vulnerable globally due to the large population and slow rate of decline. Its decline is due to loss of habitat, disturbance, predation by foxes, crows, etc. the IUCN implemented a Black Grouse Action Plan 2007–2010. This has looked at local populations that are vulnerable to the extinction vortex, for example, in Styria in Austria. In the United Kingdom black grouse are found in areas of Wales. Best looked for on farmland and moorland with nearby forestry or scattered trees and they have traditional lek sites where the males display. They have declined in parts of the UK, having disappeared from many of their former haunts. They are now extirpated in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Exmoor, East Yorkshire, New Forest, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Quantock Hills, Cornwall, Dartmoor, Kent, Wiltshire and Surrey
23.
Griffon vulture
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The griffon vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the Eurasian griffon and it is not to be confused with a different species, Rüppells griffon vulture. The griffon vulture is 93–122 cm long with a 2. 3–2.8 m wingspan. In the nominate race the males weigh 6.2 to 10.5 kg and females typically weigh 6.5 to 11.3 kg, while in the Indian subspecies, the vultures average 7.1 kg. Extreme adult weights have been reported from 4.5 to 15 kg, hatched naked, it is a typical Old World vulture in appearance, with a very white head, very broad wings and short tail feathers. It has a neck ruff and yellow bill. The buff body and wing coverts contrast with the flight feathers. Like other vultures, it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of animals which it finds by soaring over open areas. It establishes nesting colonies in cliffs that are undisturbed by humans while coverage of open areas and it grunts and hisses at roosts or when feeding on carrion. The maximum recorded lifespan of the griffon vulture is 41.4 years for an individual in captivity and it breeds on crags in mountains in southern Europe, north Africa, and Asia, laying one egg. Griffon vultures may form loose colonies, juveniles and immature individuals may migrate far or embark on long-distance movements. In Italy, the species survived only in Sardinia, but was reintroduced in a few areas of the peninsula. As a result, several specimens have been spotted again in August 2006 on the Gran Sasso massif, in Croatia, a colony of griffon vultures can be found near the town of Beli on the island of Cres. There they breed at lower elevations, with some nests just 10 m above sea level, therefore, contact with people is common. The population makes frequent incursions in the Slovenian territory, especially in the mountain Stol above Kobarid, in the United Kingdom, Griffon vultures were made extinct at some point before the 1600s. Occasional vagrants appear in the UK, and in 2000 a vulture took up residence on the Channel Island of Guernsey, in Cyprus, there is an unsustainable colony of less than 30 birds at Episkopi, in the south of the island. In Greece, there are nearly 1000 birds, on Crete they can be found in most mountainous areas, sometimes in groups of up to 20. Griffon vultures have been reintroduced successfully into the Massif Central in France, Griffon vultures are regularly spotted over the Millau bridge
24.
Alpine ibex
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The Alpine ibex, also known as the steinbock or bouquetin, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. It is a dimorphic species with larger males who carry larger. The coat colour is brownish grey. Alpine ibex tend to live in steep, rough terrain above the snow line and they are also social, although adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. Four distinct groups exist, adult groups, female-offsping groups, groups of young individuals. During the breeding season, males fight for access to females and these two national parks are connected and have been especially created to help the ibex to thrive. The ibex is the emblem of both the Gran Paradiso National Park and the Vanoise National Park, the species is currently listed as of least concern by the IUCN. The Alpine ibex was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and it is classified in the genus Capra with at least seven other species of wild goat. Both Capra and Ovis descended from an animal from the Miocene and early Pliocene, whose fossils are found in Kenya, China. The genus Tossunnoria appears in China during the late Miocene and appears to have been intermediate between gorals and goats, fossils of Alpine ibex date back to the late Pleistocene, when it and the Spanish ibex probably evolved from the extinct Pleistocene species Capra camburgensis. The Nubian, Walia and Siberian ibex are considered to be subspecies of the Alpine ibex. Compared with other members of its genus, the Alpine ibex has a short, broad head and it has brownish grey hair over most of the body, a pale abdomen and slightly darker markings on the chin and throat and in a stripe along the back. They moult twice a year, firstly in April or May, and then again in September, when they replace the short coat with thicker hair. Males commonly grow to a height of 90 to 101 centimetres at the withers, with a length of 149 to 171 centimetres. Females are noticeably smaller, with a height of 73 to 84 centimetres, a body length of 121 to 141 centimetres. Both male and female Alpine ibexes have large, backwards-curving, horns with numerous ridges along their length, at 69 to 98 centimetres, those of the males are substantially larger than those of females, which reach only 18 to 35 centimetres in length. It was also introduced to Bulgaria and Slovenia, an excellent climber, its preferred habitat is the rocky region along the snow line above alpine forests, where it occupies steep, rough terrain at elevations of 1,800 to 3,300 metres. Alpine ibex are typically absent from woodland areas although adult males in densely populated areas may stay in larch, males spend the winter in coniferous forests
25.
Gallic Wars
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The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. The wars paved the way for Julius Caesar to become the ruler of the Roman Republic. Still, Gaul was of significant military importance to the Romans, conquering Gaul allowed Rome to secure the natural border of the river Rhine. The Gallic Wars are described by Julius Caesar in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico, as a result of the financial burdens of his consulship in 59 BC, Caesar incurred significant debt. When the Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, died unexpectedly, Caesars governorships were extended to a five-year period, a new idea at the time. Caesar had initially four veteran legions under his command, Legio VII, Legio VIII, Legio IX Hispana. As he had been Governor of Hispania Ulterior in 61 BC and had campaigned successfully with them against the Lusitanians, Caesar also had the legal authority to levy additional legions and auxiliary units as he saw fit. His ambition was to conquer and plunder some territories to get out of debt. It is more likely that he was planning a campaign against the Kingdom of Dacia, the countries of Gaul were civilized and wealthy. Most had contact with Roman merchants and some, particularly those that were governed by such as the Aedui. The Romans respected and feared the Gallic tribes, only fifty years before, in 109 BC, Italy had been invaded from the north and saved only after several bloody and costly battles by Gaius Marius. Around 62 BC, when a Roman client state, the Arverni, conspired with the Sequani and the Suebi nations east of the Rhine, to attack the Aedui, the Sequani and Arverni sought Ariovistus’ aid and defeated the Aedui in 63 BC at the Battle of Magetobriga. The Sequani rewarded Ariovistus with land following his victory, Ariovistus settled the land with 120,000 of his people. When 24,000 Harudes joined his cause, Ariovistus demanded that the Sequani give him land to accommodate the Harudes people. This demand concerned Rome because if the Sequani conceded, Ariovistus would be in a position to all of the Sequani land. They did not appear to be concerned about a conflict between non-client, client and allied states, by the end of the campaign, the non-client Suebi under the leadership of the belligerent Ariovistus, stood triumphant over both the Aedui and their coconspirators. Fearing another mass migration akin to the devastating Cimbrian War, Rome, the Helvetii was a confederation of about five related Gallic tribes that lived on the Swiss plateau, hemmed in by the mountains, and the Rhine and Rhone rivers. They began to come under increased pressure from German tribes to the north, by 58 BC, the Helvetii were well on their way in the planning and provisioning for a mass migration under the leadership of Orgetorix
26.
Vernaison
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Vernaison is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. The city is located south of Lyon, on the bank of the Rhône. Inhabitants of Vernaison are called Vernaisonnais, bronze age, Along the Rhône bronze casters settle. Several remains have been south of Lyon. In the 19th century, the trésor de Vernaison was discovered, nowadays this treasure is exhibited at the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon. 15th century, Wine grapes are grown 1439, Benedictine monks quit the village,1787, A cloth factory is established by three Swiss coming from Geneva. 1887, One of the first associations for a water sport Joute nautique is founded,1995, A program is started to revalue the side arms of the Rhône. 2003, A kindergarten is opened In 1153 Vernaison was noted for the first time in a written document, the etymology of the village name is not well known, although one can distinguish the name Verne, a tree common in wet environments. The parish of Vernaison was a dependency of Charly until 1791, Vernaison houses traditional enterprises and shops as well as advanced technology firms. The market is held Wednesday morning and Saturday morning, Vernaison is linked with Lyon by bus line 15 of the TCL. This line is one of the oldest of Grand Lyon, dating from 1906, givors by bus line 215 of the TCL, this line was established in September 2007. Lyon Perrache by the line of the SNCF Saint-Étienne/Lyon. Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon INSEE
27.
Chartreuse Mountains
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The Chartreuse Mountains is a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble south to the Lac du Bourget north. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps, one of the larger cities in the Chartreuse Mountains is Voiron. The monastic Carthusian Order takes its name from these mountains, where its first hermitage was founded in 1084. Also derived from the ranges name is that of the alcoholic cordial Chartreuse produced by the monks since the 1740s. The Réserve Naturelle des Hauts de Chartreuse was founded in 1997 and it includes seven Isère townships and four Savoie townships. The Chartreuse Mountains gave their name to, The monastery of the Grande Chartreuse, head of the Carthusian order The Chartreuse liquor, the color chartreuse, with the greenish hue of the Chartreuse liqueur. Chartreuse, A Walking Guide A Wiki-Walks guide to some well known hiking routes in the Chartreuse
28.
Matheysine
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Matheysine is a French Natural region located in the Alps at the south of the Isère département. Its relief is a plateau surroundered by mountains, Matheysine is also called Plateau Matheysin. The Plateau Matheysin is located in the Isère département,30 km south of Grenoble when heading to Gap, included in the overall Taillefer massif, its average elevation is 1,000 m. Belonging to south-Dauphiné, it is crossed over by the 45th parallel north and it is around 20 km long from north to south and around 13 km wide from east to west. At the south and at the west, the border of the plateau is marked by the Drac River, at the north, the plateau ends at the Laffrey slope down to the Romanche valley at the elevation of 350m. At the east, the mountain range including the summits of Grand Serre. Beside these mountains, the plateau is crossed over from north to south by the summits of the Connest Mountain and these mountains overlook a succession of four lakes of glacier origin called the Laffrey lakes. From north to south, these lakes are composed of the lac Mort, the Grand lac de Laffrey, the Petichet lake, close to the Pierre-Châtel lake can be found one of the so-called Seven Wonders of Dauphiné, a natural arch called the Pierre Percée. La Mure is Matheysines main city, on this plateau, shaped by glaciers during the previous glacial periods and surrounded by high mountain ranges, the bise wind blows intensely, being frosty during Winter, but pleasant in Summer. Furthermore, at Winter time, the area can face heavy snowfalls, for these reasons, Matheysine is being nicknamed Little Siberia. The area has been called Mathaysana and later Mataisine and Mattacena and this depicts actually rather well both the geography and the climatic characteristics of the place. The inhabitants of Matheysine are called Matheysins, the alpine road used by emperor Napoléon I, after having landed at Juan-les-Pins on his return from Elba, crosses Matheysine. There, in a prairie located along the shore of Grand lac de Laffrey, at the now called Prairie de la Rencontre. Napoléon succeeded in rallying his opponents to his cause and could proceed to Grenoble. An equestrian statue of Napoléon still reminds this event, the history of Matheysine has been strongly impacted by coal mining. This coal, of quality, has been extracted since the beginning of the 19th century until the late 1990s. It has highly contributed to the reputation of the plateau, Matheysine has been going through an economic reconversion since the planned decline and the cessation of the coal mining activity on the plateau. New industries installations have been favoured through aids and fiscal easy terms, tourism, as well as local craft industry, also help at renewing Matheysines economic health
29.
Digital elevation model
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A digital elevation model is a digital model or 3D representation of a terrains surface — commonly for a planet, moon, or asteroid — created from terrain elevation data. There is no usage of the terms digital elevation model, digital terrain model. In most cases the term digital surface model represents the earths surface, in contrast to a DSM, the digital terrain model represents the bare ground surface without any objects like plants and buildings. DEM is often used as a term for DSMs and DTMs. Other definitions equalise the terms DEM and DTM, or define the DEM as a subset of the DTM, there are also definitions which equalise the terms DEM and DSM. On the Web definitions can be found which define DEM as a regularly spaced GRID, most of the data providers use the term DEM as a generic term for DSMs and DTMs. All datasets which are captured with satellites, airplanes or other flying platforms are originally DSMs and it is possible to compute a DTM from high resolution DSM datasets with complex algorithms. In the following the term DEM is used as a term for DSMs and DTMs. A DEM can be represented as a raster or as a vector-based triangular irregular network, the TIN DEM dataset is also referred to as a primary DEM, whereas the Raster DEM is referred to as a secondary DEM. The DEM could be acquired through techniques such as photogrammetry, lidar, IfSAR, land surveying, DEMs are commonly built using data collected using remote sensing techniques, but they may also be built from land surveying. DEMs are used often in information systems, and are the most common basis for digitally produced relief maps. Mappers may prepare digital elevation models in a number of ways, the SPOT1 satellite provided the first usable elevation data for a sizeable portion of the planets landmass, using two-pass stereoscopic correlation. The HRS instrument on SPOT5 has acquired over 100 million square kilometers of stereo pairs, older methods of generating DEMs often involve interpolating digital contour maps that may have been produced by direct survey of the land surface. This method is used in mountain areas, where interferometry is not always satisfactory. Note that contour line data or any other sampled elevation datasets are not DEMs, a DEM implies that elevation is available continuously at each location in the study area. The quality of a DEM is a measure of how accurate elevation is at each pixel, the limitation with the GTOPO30 and SRTM datasets is that they cover continental landmasses only, and SRTM does not cover the polar regions and has mountain and desert no data areas. SRTM data, being derived from radar, represents the elevation of the first-reflected surface — quite often tree tops, so, the data are not necessarily representative of the ground surface, but the top of whatever is first encountered by the radar. Submarine elevation data is generated using ship-mounted depth soundings, when land topography and bathymetry is combined, a truly Global Relief Model is obtained
30.
Mont Aiguille
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Mont Aiguille is a mountain in the Vercors Plateau of the French Prealps, located 58 km south of Grenoble, in the commune of Chichilianne, and the département of Isère. The mountain, known as one of the Seven Wonders of Dauphiné, is a flat limestone mesa surrounded by steep cliffs. The mountain lies within an area designated in 1985 as the Vercors Regional Natural Park, Mont Aiguilles limestone cliffs, especially on the northwest side, are popular with climbers. Its first climb in 1492 was said to mark the birth of mountaineering, Mont Aiguille is a mesa eroded from the Vercors Plateau in the drainage basin of the Rhône. It is surrounded by cliffs and has a height of 2,085 metres. The surrounding terrain is difficult enough to warrant a technical climb as the easiest method of ascent, the mountain is capped with meadows botanically similar to those on the Vercors High Plateau, but beneath the cliffs there are extensive forests. The mountain lies within the Vercors Regional Natural Park and is in the département of Isère, the nearest access by rail is in the village of Saint-Martin-de-Clelles and by road is from the north via the Col de La Bâtie. Another feature resulting from this is the presence of meadows on the summit plateau, Mont Aiguille is a limestone mesa, previously connected to the main body of the high plateau of the Vercors Massif. The summit is made up of lower Barremian strata, deposited during the Cretaceous period and this is the same as the plateau to the west, but not as the immediate environs, the lower slopes are composed of older Hauterivian strata. As easily observed, the planes are all roughly level. According to Roman legend, the mountain was torn from the rest of the Vercors when a hunter named Ibicus saw naked goddesses on the mountain and was changed into an ibex as punishment. In the medieval period, Mont Aiguille was traditionally called Mount Inaccessible, since at least the thirteenth century, the mountain has been regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of Dauphiné. The mountain is most noted for its first ascent in 1492, charles VIII ordered that the peak be climbed, so one of his servants, Antoine de Ville, made the ascent using a combination of ladders, ropes and other artificial aids. He was visited in the days by many local members of the nobility. The team bivouacked on the summit for eight days, erecting small crosses, the ascent is described by François Rabelais in his Quart Livre. This was the first recorded climb of any difficulty, and has been said to mark the beginning of mountaineering. The mountain was not climbed again until 1834, nearly 350 years later, less than a month later, it was climbed by seven people at the same time, who reportedly danced and sang La Marseillaise on the summit. In 1940, the top 11 m of the mountain collapsed, in the following 18 years, he staged a further 51 landings on the summit before his final landing in 1975, many carrying paying passengers, and often made using skis
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Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte
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Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. The commune hosted the ski jumping large hill event for the 1968 Winter Olympics held in neighboring Grenoble. Its hill had a calculation or K-point of 90 meters and was constructed between July 1966 and January 1967, during training, the longest jump reached was 112 meters. Final construction continued throughout the summer of 1967, during the 1968 Games, it seated 50,000 spectators. Communes of the Isère department Parc naturel régional du Vercors INSEE statistics
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Last glacial period
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The last glacial period, popularly known as the Ice Age, was the most recent glacial period, which occurred from c. 110,000 – c. 11,700 years ago. This most recent glacial period is part of a pattern of glacial and interglacial periods known as the Quaternary glaciation. From this point of view, scientists consider this ice age to be merely the latest glaciation event in a larger ice age. During this last glacial period, there were changes between glacier advance and retreat. The Last Glacial Maximum, the extent of glaciation within the last glacial period, was approximately 22,000 years ago. Approximately 13,000 years ago, the Late Glacial Maximum began, around 11,700 years ago marked the beginning of the Holocene geological epoch, which includes the Holocene glacial retreat. From the point of view of archaeology, it falls in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. When the glaciation event started, Homo sapiens were confined to Africa and used tools comparable to those used by Neanderthals in western and central Eurasia, near the end of the event, Homo sapiens spread into Eurasia and Australia. The retreat of the glaciers allowed groups of Asians to migrate to the Americas, glacials, on the other hand, refer to colder phases within an ice age that separate interglacials. Thus, the end of the last glacial period is not the end of the last ice age, the end of the last glacial period was about 11,700 years ago, while the end of the last ice age has not yet come. Over the past few years the glacial-interglacial cycle has been paced by periodic variations in the Earths orbit via Milankovitch cycles which are thus the cause of ice ages. The glaciations that occurred during this period covered many areas, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The geochronological Late Pleistocene comprises the late glacial and the immediately preceding penultimate interglacial preiond, the last glaciation centered on the huge ice sheets of North America and Eurasia. Considerable areas in the Alps, the Himalaya and the Andes were ice-covered, Canada was nearly completely covered by ice, as well as the northern part of the United States, both blanketed by the huge Laurentide ice sheet. Alaska remained mostly ice free due to climate conditions. Local glaciations existed in the Rocky Mountains and the Cordilleran ice sheet and as ice fields, the maximum extent of western Siberian glaciation was reached by approximately 16, 000–15,000 BCE and thus later than in Europe. Northeastern Siberia was not covered by an ice sheet. Instead, large, but restricted, icefield complexes covered mountain ranges within northeast Siberia, according to the sediment composition retrieved from deep-sea cores there must even have been times of seasonally open waters
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Transhumance
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Transhumance is a type of nomadism or pastoralism, a seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions, it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter, herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them. In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic or political change, traditional or fixed transhumance occurs or has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia. It is often of importance to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks. In many languages there are words for the summer pastures. The term transhumance is also used in correlation with nomadic pastoralism – the regular migration of people. The word transhumance comes from French and derives from the Latin words trans across, transhumance developed on every inhabited continent. Although there are cultural and technological variations, the underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar. Transhumance is a form of pastoralism or nomadism, in the Balkans, the Sarakatsani, Aromanian and Yörük peoples traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. When the area was part of the Austro-Hungary and Ottoman empires, in summer, some groups went as far north as the Balkan Mountains, and they would spend the winter on warmer plains in the vicinity of the Aegean Sea. The Morlach were a population of Vlach shepherds who lived in the Dinaric Alps, but as national states appeared in the area of the former Ottoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. These prevented easy movement across borders, particularly at times of war, in most parts of Wales, farm workers and sometimes the farmer would spend the summer months at a hillside summer house, or hafod, where the livestock would graze. During the late autumn the farm family and workers would drive the flocks down to the valleys, both Hafod and Hendref survive in Wales as place names and house names. Today, cattle and sheep that summer on many farms are still transported to lowland winter pastures. In many hilly and mountainous areas of Scotland, agricultural workers spent summer months in bothies or shielings, major drovers roads in the eastern part of Scotland include the Cairnamounth, Elsick Mounth and Causey Mounth. This practice has died out, but was practised within living memory in the Hebridean Islands. Today much transhumance is carried out by truck, with upland flocks being transported under agistment to lower-lying pasture during winter, in southern England, where the climate is mild and the hills low, transhumance historically took the opposite form to more mountainous areas
