THE CHAIN OF THE PUY DE DOME,France Central Plateau,Antique Map

HISTORICAL MAP CHART

PUY-DE-DOME, a department of central France, four-fifths of which belonged to Basse-Auvergne, one sixth to Bourbonnais, and the remainder to Forez (Lyonnais). Area, 3094 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Allier, E. by Loire, S. by Haute-Loire and Cantal, and W. by Corrze and Creuse. The highest point of the department, the Puy de Sancy , is also the most elevated peak of central France; it commands the group of the volcanic Monts Dore, so remarkable for their rocky corries, their erosion valleys, their trap dykes and orgues of basalt, their lakes sleeping in the depths of ancient craters or confined in the valleys by streams of lava, and their wide plaips of pasture-land. The Puy de Sancy, forming part of the watershed, gives rise on its northern slope to the Dordogne, and on the east to the Couze, a sub-tributary of the Loire, through the Allier. The Moats Dore are joined to the mountains of Cantal by the non-volcanic group of the Czallier, of which the highest peak, the Luguet (5102 ft.), rises on the confines of Puy-de-Dome and Cantal. On the north the Monts Dore are continued by a plateau of a mean height of from 3000 to 3500 ft., upon which are seen sixty cones raised by volcanic outbursts in former times. These are the Monts Dome, which extend from south to north as far as Riom, the most remarkable being the Puy-de-Dome (4800 ft.), from which the department takes its name, and the Puy-de-Pariou, the latte having a crater more than 300 ft. in depth. A meteorological observatory occupies the summit of the Puy-de-Dome, which was once crowned by a Roman semnie. the ruins of which still exist. To the east of the denart ment, along the confines of Loire, are the Monts du Forez, rising to 5380 ft. and continued north by the Bois Noirs. Between these mountains and the Dome extends the fertile plain of Limagne. The drainage of Puy-de-Dome is divided between the Loire, by its affluents the Allier and the Cher, and the Gironde, by the Dordogne. The Allier traverses the department from south to north, receiving on its right the Dore, which falls into the Allier at the northern boundary and lowest level of the department (879 ft.); on its left are the Alagnon from the Cantal, the two Couzes from the Luguet and the Monts Dore, and the Sioule, the most important of all, which drains the north-west slopes of the Monts Dore and Dome, and joins the Allier beyond the limits of the departftient. The Cher forms for a short space the boundary between the departments of Puy-de-Dme and Creuse, close to that of Allier. The Dordogne, while still scarcely formed, flows past Mont-Dore-les-Bains and La Bourboule and is lost in a deep valley which divides this department from that of Corrze. None of these streams is navigable, but boats can be used on the Allier during floods. The climate of Puy-de-Dome is usually very severe, owing to its high level and its distance from the sea; the mildest air is found in the northern valleys, where the elevation is least. During summer the hills about Clermont-Ferrand, exposed to the sun, become all the hotter because their black volcanic soil absorbs its rays. On the average 25 or 26 in. of rain fall in the year; in the Limagne around which the mountains arrest the clouds rainfall is less. Nevertheless the soil of this plain, consisting of alluvial deposits of volcanic origin, and watered by torrents and streams from the mountains, makes it one of the richest regions of France.

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.