Montagnes Noires Explained

The Montagnes Noires (French, 'black mountains'), also known as the Montagne Noire (French, 'black mountain')^[1] and in Breton as Menez Du^[2] are an east–west oriented range of hills in Brittany centred on the town of Gourin. They culminate in the peak of Roc de Toullaeron (Breton: Roc'h Toull-al-Laeron)which attains a height of either 318m^[3] or 326m.^[4] Other significant peaks include Ar Menez (304m) and Montagne Noir (307m) (or, in Breton: Menez Du).^[5] They are composed from a range of Precambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian rocks forming a part of the Variscan orogen and include sandstones, quartzites and slates.^[6]

The hills form a part of the border between the départements of Finistère and Morbihan and just extend into Côtes-du-Nord.

References

48.15°N -43°W

Notes and References

1. Carte Geologique de la France, 1:1,000,000 scale, 5th edn, Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres
2. Web site: Breizh :: Douaroniezh fizik . 2010-03-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100303100150/http://www.geobreizh.com/breizh/bre/kartenn-douaroniezh.asp . 2010-03-03 .
3. Web site: Montagnes, monts et points culminants bretons, hauteur des montagnes de Bretagne >> Geobreizh.com . 2014-04-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064733/http://www.geobreizh.com/breizh/fra/chiffres-monts.asp . 2014-04-21 .
4. Collins Road Atlas France 1988, based on IGN mapping 1988
5. Web site: Bretagne :: Géographie physique . 2010-03-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100302010339/http://www.geobreizh.com/breizh/fra/carte-geographie.asp . 2010-03-02 .
6. Carte Geologique de la France, 1:1,000,000 scale, 5th edn, Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres