Map of France : relief

Relief of France

France has a very varied relief, about two thirds of its surface is composed of plains distributed mainly in the north and west. On the other hand, in the south and east, France is mainly characterized by its mountainous relief. The main mountainous areas are :

The Vosges, located in the north east whose highest peak is the Ballon de Guebwiller with an altitude of 1426 meters.
The Vosges, located in the north east whose highest peak is the Ballon de Guebwiller with an altitude of 1426 meters.
The Alps, located in the southeast. are altitude peaks at 4810 meters at the level of the Mont Blanc. It is the highest peak in Western Europe.
The Massif Central, located in the southern half of France. It culminates at 1889 meters at the level of the Puy de Sancy.
The Pyrenees, located south of Fance, form a natural border with Spain. Its maximum altitude is at Pic d'Aneto at about 3404 meters.

The Jura, the Alps and the Pyrenees all have high peaks: they are young mountains. On the other hand, the Vosges and the Massif Central both have rounded summits: they are old mountains. They are not very high.

Lexicon of relief :

Plain : these are areas with very little relief, located at a very low altitude in relation to sea level.
Plateau : flat surface located at a more or less significant altitude with respect to the sea level.
Valley : gorge more or less lard=ge dug by a river or a glacier.
Mountain : very high natural ground elevation.
Hill : low relief at the rounded top.
Mount: it is an isolated relief or a summit in a mountain range.
Pic : relief at the sharp apex.
Crêt : summit of a mountain consisting of a ridge line.
Ballon : rounded summit of a mountain.
Puy : mountain top of volcanic origin.

The 100 highest communes (altitude)

01 Saint-Véran 2040 m
02 Montgenèvre 1849 m
03 Val-d'Isère 1840 m
04 Bonneval-sur-Arc 1787 m
05 Molines-en-Queyras 1775 m
06 Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via 1741 m
07 Bessans 1705 m
08 Larche 1680 m
09 Égat 1680 m
10 Villar-d'Arêne 1660 m
11 la Llagonne 1660 m
12 Villard-Reymond 1640 m
13 les Angles 1640 m
14 Cervières 1636 m
15 Ceillac 1633 m
16 Porté-Puymorens 1623 m
17 Vars 1620 m
18 Bolquère 1620 m
19 Caudiès-de-Conflent 1620 m
20 Mont-Louis 1613 m
21 Crévoux 1600 m
22 Névache 1600 m
23 Valcebollère 1600 m
24 Targassonne 1594 m
25 Ristolas 1590 m
26 Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats 1580 m
27 Eyne 1574 m
28 Besse 1560 m
29 Saint-Jean-d'Arves 1549 m
30 Meyronnes 1540 m
31 Arvieux 1540 m
32 Puy-Saint-Pierre 1540 m
33 Mantet 1540 m
34 Abriès 1520 m
35 Formiguères 1520 m
36 Matemale 1520 m
37 Albiez-Montrond 1520 m
38 Puy-Saint-André 1516 m
39 Porta 1511 m
40 Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves 1510 m
41 Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage 1500 m
42 Villard-Notre-Dame 1500 m
43 la Cabanasse 1500 m
44 Fontrabiouse 1500 m
45 Planès 1500 m
46 Sauto 1500 m
47 Valmeinier 1500 m
48 Puyvalador 1497 m
49 le Monêtier-les-Bains 1495 m
50 Aussois 1483 m
51 la Grave 1481 m
52 Lanslevillard 1480 m
53 Aiguilles 1470 m
54 Saint-Claude 1467 m
55 Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye 1466 m
56 les Orres 1460 m
57 Huez 1460 m
58 Capesterre-Belle-Eau 1450 m
59 Beuil 1442 m
60 Enchastrayes 1440 m
61 l'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre 1440 m
62 Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans 1440 m
63 Villard-Reculas 1440 m
64 Dorres 1440 m
65 Réal 1439 m
66 la Salle-les-Alpes 1436 m
67 Oulles 1420 m
68 Llo 1420 m
69 Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis 1420 m
70 Pralognan-la-Vanoise 1418 m
71 Allos 1414 m
72 Sansa 1414 m
73 Valloire 1401 m
74 Orcières 1400 m
75 Puy-Saint-Vincent 1400 m
76 Saint-François-Longchamp 1400 m
77 Gourbeyre 1397 m
78 Val-des-Prés 1387 m
79 Err 1384 m
80 Réallon 1381 m
81 Clavans-en-Haut-Oisans 1380 m
82 la Morte 1380 m
83 Saint-Martin-de-Belleville 1380 m
84 Saint-Michel-de-Chaillol 1369 m
85 les Estables 1367 m
86 Gavarnie 1365 m
87 Saint-Chaffrey 1360 m
88 Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes 1360 m
89 Albiez-le-Jeune 1357 m
90 Baillif 1354 m
91 Vieux-Habitants 1354 m
92 Ancelle 1340 m
93 Bourg-d'Oueil 1340 m
94 Ayguatébia-Talau 1340 m
95 Railleu 1340 m
96 Peisey-Nancroix 1340 m
97 Germ 1339 m
98 Lachamp-Raphaël 1320 m
99 Gouaux-de-Larboust 1320 m
100 la Condamine-Châtelard 1300 m

Above are the 100 French communes with the highest altitude (altitude is shaded in grey and is expressed in metres). From this list, it appears that the highest town in France is Saint-Véran, located in the Hautes Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur region. Its altitude is 2040 meters, it is populated by 303 inhabitants (census 2012) for a surface area of 44.8 km².