Overview
Jura is a department in eastern France. A wide plain gives way to vineyard-clad hills and then rises up to the Jura Mountains in the southeast.
Description
The area is known for its valleys and beach-fringed lakes, including Lac de Chalain and the navigable reservoir of Lac de Vouglans. Higher up, trails cross forested mountains and alpine meadows in the Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura, where lynx and chamois roam free. Brooding landscapes and inspiring hikes define the sparsely populated Jura Mountains. Extending along the Franco–Swiss border from Lake Geneva northeast to Belfort, these sub-alpine mountains lent their name to the Jurassic period in geology, when they formed. Rising highest is Crêt de la Neige (1720m), in the southwest of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Jura.