View source for Jura Mountains

{{short description|Mountain chain in Switzerland and France}}
{{Distinguish|Montes Jura|Paps of Jura}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name              = Jura Mountains
| photo             = Jura_Mountains.jpg
| photo_size        = 275
| photo_alt         = Landscape of tree-clad valley stretching toward mountainous horizon
| photo_caption     = View towards [[Lélex]] from near the [[Crêt de la Neige]]
| country           = {{hlist|[[France]]|[[Switzerland]]}}
| subdivision1_type = Regions/Cantons
| subdivision1      = {{hlist|[[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]|[[Bourgogne-Franche-Comté]]|[[Grand Est]]|[[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]]|[[Canton of Vaud|Vaud]]|[[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]]|[[Canton of Jura|Jura]]|[[Canton of Bern|Bern]]|[[Canton of Solothurn|Solothurn]]|[[Canton of Basel-Landschaft|Basel-Landschaft]]|[[Canton of Aargau|Aargau]]|[[Canton of Zurich|Zurich]]}}
| highest           = [[Crêt de la Neige]]
| elevation_m       = 1720
| map_image         = Juragebirge.JPG 
| map_size          =
| map_alt           = Satellite image of the Jura mountains and Western Alps, including Lake Geneva, with major cities labeled
| map_caption       = Satellite image of the Jura Mountains (mostly dark green area in the upper left half of the image)
| coordinates       = {{coord|46|16|15|N|5|56|22|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline}}
| range_coordinates = {{coord|46|40|N|6|15|E|type:mountain_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
}}
The '''Jura Mountains''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ʊər|ə|,_|ˈ|ʒ|ʊər|ə}} {{respell|JOOR|ə|,_|ZHOOR|ə}})<ref>{{IPA|fr|ʒyʁa|lang|fr-Paris--Jura.ogg}}, {{IPA|de|ˈjuːʁa|lang|de-Jura.ogg}}, {{IPA|de|ˈjuːɾa|label=locally|generic=yes}};{{needs IPA|Arpitan|lang=frp|date=November 2024}} {{langx|fr|Massif du Jura}}; {{langx|de|Juragebirge}}; {{langx|it|Massiccio del Giura}}; {{langx|rm|Montagnas da Jura}}</ref> are a [[Montane ecosystem|sub-alpine]] [[mountain range]] a short distance north of the [[Western Alps]] and mainly demarcate a long part of the [[France–Switzerland border|French–Swiss border]]. While the Jura range proper ("[[Fold (geology)|folded]] Jura", {{lang|de|Faltenjura}}) is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues northeastwards through northern [[Switzerland]] and [[Germany]] as the [[Table Jura]] ("not folded Jura", {{lang|de|Tafeljura}}), which is crossed by the [[High Rhine]].

==Name==
The mountain range gives its name to the [[French department]] of [[Jura (department)|Jura]], the Swiss [[canton of Jura]], the [[Jurassic]] [[period (geology)|period]] of the geologic timescale, and the [[Montes Jura]] of the [[Moon]].

It is first attested as ''mons Iura'' in book one of [[Julius Caesar]]'s ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]''. [[Strabo]] uses a Greek masculine form {{Lang|grc|ὁ Ἰόρας}} ("through the Jura mountains", {{Lang|grc|διὰ τοῦ Ἰόρα ὄρους}}) in his ''Geographica'' (4.6.11). Based on suggestions by [[Ferdinand de Saussure]], early [[celticist]]s such as [[Georges Dottin]] tried to establish an etymon "iura-, iuri" as a Celtic word for mountains,<ref>{{cite book |last=Dottin |first=Georges |author-link= |date=1918 |title=La Langue gauloise : grammaire, textes et glossaire |url=https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_403841/component/file_403840/content |location=Paris |publisher=Klincksieck |page=263 |isbn=}}</ref> with similar putative etymologies (e.g. *''juris'', "mountainous forest") still appearing in more recent non-academic publications.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bossard |first1=Maurice |last2=Chavan |first2=Jean-Pierre | date=1990 |title= Nos lieux-dits : toponymie romande. Nouv. éd. revue et augmentée |location= Yens sur Morges |publisher= Cabédita |page=161 |isbn= 9782882954640}}</ref> However, since there are no clear cognates in the surviving corpus of the Celtic languages, modern studies of Proto-Celtic and Gaulish etymology tend not to list any [[Lemma (morphology)|lemmata]] connected to Jura, and the name must be considered fundamentally unclear.<ref>{{cite book |last=Matasović |first=Ranko |author-link= |date=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |url= |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |page= |isbn= 978-90-04-17336-1}}</ref>

==Physiography==
The Jura Mountains are a far province of the larger [[Central European uplands]]. The Jura range proper lies in [[France]] and Switzerland.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Becker |first1=Arnfried |title=The Jura Mountains — an active foreland fold-and-thrust belt? |journal=Tectonophysics |date=June 2000 |volume=321 |issue=4 |pages=381–406 |doi=10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00089-5|bibcode=2000Tectp.321..381B }}</ref>

In France, the Jura covers most of the [[Franche-Comté]] region, stretching south into the [[Rhône-Alpes]] region and north into the [[Grand Est]] region. The range reaches its highest point at the [[Crêt de la Neige]] ({{cvt|1720|m}}), in department of [[Ain]], 5&nbsp;km west from the Swiss border of the [[canton of Geneva]], and finds its southern terminus in the northwestern part of the [[French department|department]] of [[Savoie]]. The north end of the Jura extends into the southern tip of [[Alsace]] ([[Sundgau]]). Roughly {{cvt|1600|km2|-2}} of the mountain range in France is protected by the [[Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura|Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park]].

[[File:Schweiz-Französischer-Jura.png|thumb|left|[[Topographical]] map (relief map) of Switzerland showing the Jura range proper (''Faltenjura'') in the northwest and west, and the [[Alps]] in the south and east]]
The Swiss Jura is one of the three distinct geographical regions of Switzerland, the others being the [[Swiss plateau]] and the [[Swiss Alps]]. Most of the range covers the western border with France. In Switzerland, the Jura Mountains extend over an area covering (from northeast to southwest) the [[Cantons of Switzerland|canton]]s of [[Canton of Zurich|Zurich]], [[Canton of Aargau|Aargau]], [[Canton of Basel-Landschaft|Basel-Landschaft]], [[Canton of Solothurn|Solothurn]], [[Canton of Jura|Jura]], [[Canton of Bern|Bern]] (i.e., [[Bernese Jura]]), [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]], [[Canton of Vaud|Vaud]], and [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]]. The easternmost mountain of the Jura range proper is the [[Lägern]], situated east of the river Aare. Much of the Swiss Jura region has no historical association with [[Early Modern Switzerland]] and was incorporated as part of the Swiss Confederacy only in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a movement for [[Jura separatism]] developed, which resulted in the creation of the Canton of Jura in 1979.

The east of the Jura range proper [[drainage divide|separates]] the [[Rhine]] and [[Rhône]] [[Drainage basins|basins]]. The northern and eastern part of the range drains towards the Rhine river and its tributaries [[Aare]] and [[Ill (France)|Ill]], whereas the western and southern parts drain towards the Rhône river and its (sub)tributaries [[Doubs (river)|Doubs]], [[Saône]], and [[Ain (river)|Ain]]. Initially the river Doubs (a subtributary of the Rhône) flows about {{cvt|100|km}} northeast, briefly venturing into Switzerland, then changing direction and flowing about {{cvt|170|km}} southwest before joining the Saône ca. {{cvt|140|km}} north of the French city of [[Lyon]]. In Lyon, the Saône joins the Rhône. While the Rhine flows into the [[North Sea]], the Rhône flows into the [[Mediterranean Sea]].

Northeast, the Jura range proper (known as "folded Jura", ''Faltenjura'') is continued as the [[Table Jura]] (''Tafeljura''). The Table Jura ranges (from southwest to northeast) across the Swiss cantons of [[Canton of Basel-Landschaft|Basel-Landschaft]], [[Canton of Aargau|Aargau]], and [[Canton of Schaffhausen|Schaffhausen]] ([[Randen (mountain range)|Randen]]), and the southern [[States of Germany|German states]] of [[Baden-Württemberg]] and [[Bavaria]] (as Klettgau Jura, [[Baar (region)|Baar Jura]], and the [[Swabian Jura|Swabia]]n and [[Franconian Jura|Franconia]]n plateaus).
[[Image:Creux-du-Van vertical.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Inward-curving cliff of the Creux du Van|[[Creux du Van]]]]

===Geology===
{{see also|Vosges and Jura coal mining basins}}
The range is built up vertically while decreasing in size laterally (along a rough northwest–southeast line). This deformation accommodates the compression from alpine folding as the main [[Alpine orogeny|Alpine orogenic]] front moves roughly northwards. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the younger, more active Alpine mountain building.

The geologic folds comprise three major bands ([[Lithology|lithological]] units) of building that date from three [[Epoch (geology)|epoch]]s: the Lias ([[Early Jurassic]]), the Dogger ([[Middle Jurassic]]) and the Malm ([[Late Jurassic]]) [[geologic period]]s. Each era of folding reveals effects of previously shallow marine environments as evidenced by beds with [[calcite|carbonate]] sequences, containing abundant [[bioclast]]s and [[oolite|oolitic]] divisions between layers (called horizons).

Structurally, the Jura consists of a sequence of <!-- "Owen": no references found for "Owen fold" or "Owen folds" -->geologic folds, the formation of which is facilitated by an [[evaporite|evaporitic]] [[decollement]] layer. The box folds are still relatively young, which is evident by the general shape of the [[landscape]] showing that they have not existed long enough to experience [[erosion]], thus revealing recent mountain building.

=== Main peaks ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Altitude 
! Peak 
! Canton or<br />Department
|-
|1720 m|| data-sort-value="Cretneige" | [[Crêt de la Neige]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1718 m|| data-sort-value="Reculet" | [[Le Reculet]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1702 m|| data-sort-value="Grandcret" | [[Grand Crêt]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1688 m|| data-sort-value="Colombygex" | [[Colomby de Gex]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1679 m|| data-sort-value="Monttendre" | [[Mont Tendre]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1677 m|| data-sort-value="Dole" | [[La Dôle]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1621 m|| data-sort-value="Cretgoutte" | [[Crêt de la Goutte]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1614 m|| data-sort-value="Grand Montrond" | [[Mont Rond|Grand Montrond]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1607 m|| data-sort-value="Chasseral" | [[Chasseral]] || data-sort-value="CHBern" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Kanton Bern|Bern]]
|-
|1607 m|| data-sort-value="Chasseron" | [[Chasseron|Le Chasseron]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1597 m|| data-sort-value="Crêt du Milieu" | [[Grand Crêt d’Eau|Crêt du Milieu]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1596 m|| data-sort-value="Montrond" | [[Mont Rond]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1588 m|| data-sort-value="Suchet" | [[Suchet (Berg)|Le Suchet]]&nbsp;|| data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1584 m|| data-sort-value="Crêt du Miroir" | [[Grand Crêt d’Eau|Crêt du Miroir]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1567 m|| data-sort-value="Noirmont" | [[Le Noirmont (mountain)|Le Noirmont]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1560 m|| data-sort-value="Aiguillesbaulmes" | [[Aiguilles de Baulmes]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1546 m|| data-sort-value="Crêt du l’Éguillon" | [[Grand Crêt d’Eau|Crêt du l’Éguillon]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1545 m|| data-sort-value="Cretchalam" | [[Crêt de Chalam]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1543 m|| data-sort-value="Petit Montrond" | [[Mont Rond|Petit Montrond]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1540 m|| data-sort-value="Grandcolombier" | [[Grand Colombier (Ain)|Grand Colombier]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1536 m|| data-sort-value="Crêt des Frasses" | [[Grand Crêt d’Eau|Crêt des Frasses]] || data-sort-value="FRAin" |{{FRA|}}, [[Ain]]
|-
|1528 m|| data-sort-value="Barillette" | [[La Barillette]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1504 m|| data-sort-value="Montchat" | [[Signal du Mont du Chat]]|| data-sort-value="FRSavoie" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Savoie]]
|-
|1495 m|| data-sort-value="Cretpela" | [[Crêt Pela]] || data-sort-value="FRJura" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Jura (department)|Jura]]
|-
|1483 m|| data-sort-value="Dentvaulion" | [[Dent de Vaulion]] || data-sort-value="CHVaud" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Vaud]]
|-
|1463 m|| data-sort-value="Montor" | [[Mont d'Or (Jura Mountains)|Mont d’Or]] || data-sort-value="FRDoubs" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Doubs]]
|-
|1448 m|| data-sort-value="Cretmerle" | [[Crêt au Merle]] || data-sort-value="FRJura" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Jura (department)|Jura]]
|-
|1445 m|| data-sort-value="Hasenmatt" | [[Hasenmatt]] || data-sort-value="CHSolothurn" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Kanton Solothurn|Solothurn]]
|-
|1439 m|| data-sort-value="Montracine" | [[Mont Racine]] || data-sort-value="CHNeuchâtel" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]]
|-
|1425 m|| data-sort-value="Chaineepine" | [[Chaîne de l’Épine]] || data-sort-value="FRSavoie" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Savoie]]
|-
|1419 m|| data-sort-value="Morond" | [[Le Morond]] || data-sort-value="FRDoubs" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Doubs]]
|-
|1395 m|| data-sort-value="Weissenstein" | [[Weissenstein (Jura)|Weissenstein]] ([[Röti]]) || data-sort-value="CHSolothurn" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Kanton Solothurn|Solothurn]]
|-
|1382 m|| data-sort-value="Mont Sujet" | [[Mont Sujet]] || data-sort-value="CHBern" |{{CHE|#}}, [[Kanton Bern|Bern]]
|-
|1323 m|| data-sort-value="Grandtaureau" | [[Le Grand Taureau]] || data-sort-value="FRDoubs" |{{FRA|#}}, [[Doubs]]
|}

==Tourism==
The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing. There are many signposted trails including the [[Jura ridgeway]], a {{cvt|310|km}} hiking route. Several peaks feature [[observation tower]]s (e.g. [[Faux d'Enson]], [[Hage (Randen)|Hage]]).

Tourist attractions in the Swiss Jura include natural features such as the [[Creux du Van]], lookout peaks such as the [[Chasseral]], caves such as the [[Grottes de Vallorbe]], as well as [[Canyon|gorges]] such as [[Taubenloch]]. The Swiss Jura has been industrialized since the 18th century and became a major centre of the [[watchmaker|watchmaking]] industry. The area has several cities at very high altitudes, such as [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]], [[Le Locle]] and [[Sainte-Croix, Switzerland|Sainte-Croix]] (renowned for its [[musical box]]es); however, it generally has had a marked decline in population since 1960. Both Le Locle and its geographical twin town La Chaux-de-Fonds are recognised as an UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] for their [[horology|horological]] and related cultural past.

In the French Jura, the 11th-century [[Fort de Joux]], famously remodeled and strengthened by [[Vauban]] in 1690 and subsequently by other military engineers, is situated on a natural rock outcropping in the middle of the range not far from [[Pontarlier]]. Part of the [[A40 autoroute]] crosses through a portion of the southern Jura between [[Bourg-en-Bresse]] and [[Bellegarde-sur-Valserine]], which is known as the "Highway of the Titans".

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Col de la Faucille]]
* [[Franconian Jura]]
* [[List of mountains in Switzerland]]
* [[Nature parks in Switzerland]]
* [[Rocher des Tablettes]]
* [[Swabian Jura]]
* [[Table Jura]]
* [[Geology of the Jura Massif]]
* [[Grotte de Cotencher]]}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Jura mountains}}
*{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Jura (mountains) |volume=15 |last=Coolidge |first=William Augustus Brevoort |author-link=W. A. B. Coolidge |pages=565&ndash;567 |short=1}}

{{Mountains of France}}
{{Switzerland topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Geography|Mountains|France|Switzerland}}

[[Category:Jura Mountains| ]]
[[Category:Geological type localities]]
[[Category:Jurassic geology]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Physiographic provinces]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Grand Est]]