Cévennes

Series of mountain ranges on the southern, southeastern, and eastern borders of the Massif Central in France, forming the watershed between the Rhône and Garonne rivers. The total length of the ranges is 530 km/330 mi. The highest peak is Mount Mézenc (1,754 m/5,755 ft).

Definitions In the widest sense the ranges of the Cévennes extend from the Canal du Midi, north of Carcassonne, to the south of the Côte d'Or. Sometimes the name is used to refer to the southern ranges only, ending at the gorge of the Chassezac, north of Montagne de Lozère. In its narrowest sense the name Cévennes describes only those mountains east of the limestone plateaux of Les Causses, beginning with the Lozère plateau and ending with those around Aigoual at the head of the Gard valley.

Topography The large group is divided into two sections: a northern section consisting of the Monts du Charolais, Beaujolais, Lyonnais, and Vivarais; and a southern section consisting of the Montagnes Noires, the Cévennes proper, Garrigues, Monts de l'Epinouse, and Lozère. The Loire, Allier, Tarn, and Aveyron rivers, amongst others, rise in the Cévennes. The ranges lie largely in the départements of Ardèche and Lozère, and are the site of a national park. A railway crosses the range in the northeast from Nîmes to Clermont-Ferrand by way of Alès and the Allier valley.

History The Cevennes were the scene of the revolt of the Camisards, a group of Protestants who, from 1702–05, rebelled against persecution by Louis XIV. They sacked or burned churches and killed or expelled priests. The government responded with executions and the burning of villages.