The Jura Mountains are a chain of geological elevations, whose highest peak reaches 1,723 m (5654 ft). They run from northeast to southwest for about 250 km, forming a wide open arch that constitutes the natural border between France and Switzerland. Thus, they are located in west-central Europe, between the Rhine and Rhône River. Le Crêt de la Neige, the highest peak, is situated in the department of Ain, France.
Geology
The Jura Mountains gave the name to a period of the Mesozoic Era; the Jurassic, which followed the Triassic and preceded the Cretaceous. Hence, these low mountain range is about 160 million years old. Lime is the main rock that makes up the bulk of the system.
The Jura Mountains originated from the thin-skinned tectonic that deformed a calcareous Mesozoic cover. Although the Mesozoic Jura shelf emerged at the end of the Cretaceous, the rock structure, which is lime, was formed and compressed during the Jurassic. Later, during the Cenozoic Era, it underwent Paleogene subtropical weathering and erosion. During the late Miocene epoch (Tertiary period of Cenozoic), it was invaded by a perialpine sea. Then the internal part of the Jura Mountain would be reached by Alpine compression.
The intense folding of the internal Jura was responsible for a thickened cover, which in turn induced the uplift of this zone. Most of the fold belt of the Jura is no longer active today, according to present day stress field pattern; this was suggested by Becker in 1999.
Below, map of Europe, showing the exact location of the Juran Mountains.
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