Ballon d'Alsace
The Ballon d'Alsace (French pronunciation: [balɔ̃ dalzas]; German: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named "Belchen")[1][2][3] is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the Vosges, the Rhine valley, the Black Forest, and the Alps.
| Ballon d'Alsace | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,247 m (4,091 ft) |
| Prominence | 217 m (712 ft)[citation needed] |
| Isolation | 5.62 km (3.49 mi) |
| Coordinates | 47°49′20″N 6°50′43″E / 47.82222°N 6.84528°E |
| Geography | |
Ballon d'Alsace | |
| Parent range | Vosges |
A road leads over a pass near the peak at the Col du Ballon d'Alsace, 1,171 m (3,842 ft). The pass is noted as the site of the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France on 11 July 1905,[4] the first rider to the top of the climb being René Pottier and the stage being won by Hippolyte Aucouturier. Stage 9 of the 2005 Tour crossed this pass on the centenary of the original climb.
Ballon d'Alsace features Alpine and Cross Country skiing tracks.
The mountain is part of the so-called Belchen System, a group of mountains with the name "Belchen" (in German) that may have been part of a Celtic sun calendar.
Geography edit
Climate edit
Ballon d'Alsace has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The average annual temperature in Ballon d'Alsace is 6.6 °C (43.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,263.6 mm (89.12 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 14.9 °C (58.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around −1.2 °C (29.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Ballon d'Alsace was 32.3 °C (90.1 °F) on 24 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −19.1 °C (−2.4 °F) on 20 December 2009.
| Climate data for Ballon d'Alsace (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1987−present); elevation 1153m | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) | 17.0 (62.6) | 18.4 (65.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 29.7 (85.5) | 32.3 (90.1) | 31.3 (88.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 18.5 (65.3) | 13.8 (56.8) | 32.3 (90.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.1 (34.0) | 1.4 (34.5) | 4.7 (40.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.4 (65.1) | 14.3 (57.7) | 10.3 (50.5) | 5.1 (41.2) | 2.0 (35.6) | 9.6 (49.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.2 (29.8) | −1.0 (30.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.8 (42.4) | 9.6 (49.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 11.1 (52.0) | 7.6 (45.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | −0.2 (31.6) | 6.6 (43.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.4 (25.9) | −3.5 (25.7) | −1.0 (30.2) | 2.4 (36.3) | 5.9 (42.6) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.2 (52.2) | 11.3 (52.3) | 7.9 (46.2) | 4.9 (40.8) | 0.5 (32.9) | −2.4 (27.7) | 3.6 (38.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.9 (3.4) | −18.8 (−1.8) | −15.7 (3.7) | −9.3 (15.3) | −3.6 (25.5) | −0.9 (30.4) | 3.9 (39.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | −0.2 (31.6) | −7.7 (18.1) | −13.8 (7.2) | −19.1 (−2.4) | −19.1 (−2.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 251.9 (9.92) | 203.9 (8.03) | 196.5 (7.74) | 123.7 (4.87) | 178.8 (7.04) | 134.6 (5.30) | 148.8 (5.86) | 157.1 (6.19) | 154.0 (6.06) | 210.5 (8.29) | 215.2 (8.47) | 288.6 (11.36) | 2,263.6 (89.12) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 15.3 | 14.8 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 14.7 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 13.1 | 10.9 | 13.7 | 14.7 | 16.3 | 164.9 |
| Source: Météo-France[5] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Ballon De Servance, 1213m (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.2 (61.2) | 18.0 (64.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 25.4 (77.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.8 (87.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 22.2 (72.0) | 18.1 (64.6) | 14.6 (58.3) | 31.2 (88.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) | 0.9 (33.6) | 4.3 (39.7) | 9.5 (49.1) | 12.4 (54.3) | 16.3 (61.3) | 18.5 (65.3) | 17.5 (63.5) | 14.4 (57.9) | 10.3 (50.5) | 5.2 (41.4) | 1.9 (35.4) | 9.3 (48.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −1.3 (29.7) | 1.6 (34.9) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.8 (55.0) | 14.9 (58.8) | 14.1 (57.4) | 11.2 (52.2) | 7.6 (45.7) | 3.0 (37.4) | −0.2 (31.6) | 6.5 (43.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | 2.9 (37.2) | 5.6 (42.1) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.4 (52.5) | 10.7 (51.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 5.0 (41.0) | 0.8 (33.4) | −2.4 (27.7) | 3.6 (38.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12.6 (9.3) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −12.8 (9.0) | −9.2 (15.4) | −4.1 (24.6) | −0.9 (30.4) | 3.0 (37.4) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.3 (32.5) | −7.2 (19.0) | −11.3 (11.7) | −20.1 (−4.2) | −20.1 (−4.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 190.7 (7.51) | 141.0 (5.55) | 160.4 (6.31) | 94.1 (3.70) | 171.1 (6.74) | 137.1 (5.40) | 146.4 (5.76) | 148.7 (5.85) | 138.5 (5.45) | 161.6 (6.36) | 171.8 (6.76) | 221.5 (8.72) | 1,882.9 (74.11) |
| Source: Météo-France[6] | |||||||||||||
Gallery edit
- Statue of Jeanne d'Arc at Ballon d'Alsace
- Deminers monument at Ballon d'Alsace
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Herbertson, Andrew John, A Handbook of Geography: Volume I. General Geography. The British Isles and Europe, London: T. Nelson (1912), p. 173.
- ^ Karfeld, Kurt, Peter; Walter Dirks and Manfred Hausmann, Germany in Colour, Karfeld Verlag, 1956, p. 16.
- ^ Schickele, Rene, Heart of Alsace, AA Knopf (1929), p. 164.
- ^ (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (pdf) on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF). Météo-France. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved September 3, 2023.