The Cézallier Massif, which can also be written Cézalier (in Auvergnat Occitan Sejaleir), is a volcanic plateau in the Massif Central, between the Monts Dore and Monts du Cantal, making up a natural region of France. It is mainly divided between two départements: Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal, but also includes a small part of Haute-Loire. It is also one of the five natural regions making up the Parc naturel régional des volcans d'Auvergne.
The average altitude of the massif is between 1,200 and 1,500 m. The massif's highest point is the Signal du Luguet (1,547 m).
Toponymy The origin of the name Cézallier is a matter of debate. It is generally thought to come from the Auvergnat seijaveî meaning "rye land". Others believe it comes from the association of two ancient words meaning "mountain" and "place where oaks grow ".
From the 18th century onwards, Cézallier was presented by scientists, administrators and writers as a massif or mountain. The name Cézallier did not yet appear on the maps drawn up by staff officers at the end of the 19th century; they simply referred to the "Signal du Luguet", thus naming the highest point of the village of Le Luguet, which had up to 1,400 inhabitants at the end of the 19th century.
In fact, popular usage knew neither the Cézallier nor the Luguet region. It was cartographers and geographers who extended the name Cézallier, making it a massif, whereas traditionally it was a summit. The name Cézallier has now been included as one of the Auvergne massifs in the geographical nomenclature of the Massif Central, probably for good.
Geography
Location The Cézallier occupies a central position in the Auvergne mountains. It is bordered to the north by the Monts Dore and to the south by the Cantal mountains. To the west, Artense forms a transition with the Limousin mountains, while to the east lies the Limagne plain.
Although the Cézallier extends mainly between the Puy-de-Dôme (between Égliseneuve-d'Entraigues to the west and Apchat to the east) and the Cantal (between Lugarde to the west and Massiac to the east), it also includes a number of communes in the Haute-Loire, on the left bank of the Alagnon.
Communes of the Cézallier The following table groups communes by geographical zone, and does not take into account administrative divisions. + Cézallier West Cézallier South Estives Hautes Couzes Pays Coupés Alagnonais Chanterelle Condat Égliseneuve-d'Entraigues Lugarde Marchastel Saint-Amandin Saint-Bonnet-de-Condat Saint-Saturnin Allanche Chalinargues Joursac Landeyrat Neussargues-Moissac Peyrusse Sainte-Anastasie Ségur-les-Villas Vernols Vèze Anzat-le-Luguet Boutaresse Brion Espinchal La Godivelle Marcenat Mazoires Montgreleix Pradiers Saint-Alyre-ès-Montagne Apchat Ardes Compains La Chapelle-Marcousse Rentières Roche-Charles-la-Mayrand Autrac Auriac-l'Église Blesle Charmensac Laurie Leyvaux Massiac Molèdes Molompize Saint-Étienne-sur-Blesle Torsiac
Topography
As is the case with many Hawaiian-type volcanic formations, the Cézallier's most pronounced reliefs are paradoxically not the highest peaks, but the valleys on the periphery, where fluvial erosion prior to volcanism continued and intensified after its emergence, The result is locally deep gorges (Couzes d'Ardes, de Valbeleix, Sianne valley), which are more numerous on the eastern slopes, where the rivers run a short distance to join the lower Allier valley, while the western slopes have more moderate gradients.
In contrast to the two neighbouring, higher stratovolcanoes, the Monts du Cantal and Monts Dore, where glacial erosion has left sharp ridges and steep cirques in their centers, the Haut Cézallier – although once entirely ice-covered, albeit for less prolonged and less intense periods – features essentially gentle, rounded reliefs (domes, plateaux). However, the imprint of the glaciers is everywhere: embryonic cirques (Artout, le Joran...), peat bogs, erratic boulders, etc. To the north, the last volcanic edifices, not yet dismantled by erosion, also display more vigorous forms (Montchal and Montcineyre eruptive cones, Chamaroux dome).
Main peaks The main peaks of the Cézallier all rise to just over 1,500 meters, and all three are covered by pastures, but crowned just at the top by a small coniferous wood. The highest point of the massif, in one of these woods, is the Signal du Luguet (1,547 metres), close to the village of the same name and overlooking the former Artout glacial cirque.
Signal du Luguet, Le Pépendille, Le Perche, Mont Chamaroux, Montagne des Huides, Mont Mouchet, Rocherousse Mountain, Niollet Mountain, Roche de Piroux, Puy de la Vaisse, Teston du Joran, Le Testou, Puy de la Rode, Montagne de Janson, Le Chabrut, Puy de Mathonière, Montagne de Riocros Haute, La Motte, La Chaux d'Espinchal, Montagne de la Taillade, Puy Montcey, Montagne des Mas, Moutissous Mountain, Le Sarran,
Hydrography + Rivers in the Loire basin Rivers in the Dordogne in the Dordogne basin Lakes L’Allanche La Bouzaire La Sianne La Fontaine Saint Martin (La Fontaine Salée) La Voireuze Le Bave L'Auze Le ruisseau de la Roche La Couze d'Ardes La Couze de Valbeleix La Grande Rhue La Rhue Le Bonjon La Santoire Bas de La Godivelle lake (peat bog) Haut de La Godivelle lake (crater) Chaumiane lake Chandroux lake (peat bog) Jolan lake Cureyre lake (peat bog) Esclause lake Chaumoune lake Fage lake (impounded) Landie lake Saint-Alyre lake (peat bog) Serre lake Terrisse lake(impounded) Bordes lake Bruyères de Sianne lake (impounded) Moines lake Pécher lake (impounded)
Geology The Cézallier forms a series of plateaus and small volcanic mountains, mainly made up of fluid lava flows (basalt) but also a few craters, the most recent of which are only a few thousand years old (Montchal, Montcineyre) and are sometimes occupied by lakes (Pavin, Chauvet, La Godivelle).
The stratovolcano The stratovolcano that formed the Cézallier Massif appeared eight million years ago and died out three million years ago. Between 25 and 30 km long and 10 km wide, it was oriented north–south, and the Signal du Luguet is one of its main remnants. In its central part, the volcano consists of an accumulation of lava flows (basalt) and fragmented materials associated with trachyte and phonolite domes, as well as layers of pumice. On the outskirts of the Luguet massif, all that remains of this activity are a few mounds cleared by glacial erosion and then by run-off water (relief inversion process).
Climate Most of the Cézallier is part of the sub-oceanic mountain range of the Monts d'Auvergne and Aubrac, characterized by a notable ascending effect that reactivates humid Atlantic flows, and by a moderate summer-winter temperature range (around 14° between January and July) within a very cool annual average (6° at around 1,200 meters altitude).
The result is a high overall precipitation level and a significant, albeit irregular, winter snowfall due to oceanic thaws and the predominant role played by the wind in the vast pastoral areas (the snow is "swept" by the wind and accumulates massively in snowdrifts on the edges of plateaus and in sheltered valleys, resulting in snowdrifts that generally linger until May or June in the highest parts). Added to this are local nuances caused by the internal and external layout of the relief:
the north-western part of the Cézallier, in the absence of any other mountainous formation blocking the disturbances coming from the south-west – apart from the distant and therefore not very influential Pyrenees – is the wettest part (accumulations of around 150 cm/year); conversely, the southern Cézallier benefits from the foehn effect created by the Cantal mountains, resulting in a relative dryness (around 100 cm/year) and an increase in summer thunderstorms in the total accumulation (continental trend); in the central part (Signal du Luguet, Mont Chamaroux), the "Cantalien foehn" effect decreases from south to north and, thanks to its highest altitude and wide opening to the west, benefits from high precipitation (120 to 150 cm/year) and the most abundant snow cover; finally, the entire eastern slope is subject to the foehn effect of the Haut Cézallier, with a rapid decrease in rainfall (from 120 to less than 80 cm/year) and a marked rise in average temperatures as you approach the Limagne plain and the Alagnon valley, with its continental or even Mediterranean characteristics.
Fauna and flora The vegetation reflects the contrasts in climate. The central and north-western regions, home to verdant estives, heather and bilberry moors, post-glacial peat bogs and beech forests (more rarely fir or spruce plantations) typical of the Atlantic mountains, give way to a drier landscape as you move south and east, home to oaks, Scots pines and pseudo-garrigues.
The wide open spaces of the Cézallier are ideal hunting grounds for birds of prey. The deep wooded gorges provide safe havens. Tawny owls, barn owls and long-eared owls are numerous. There are also eagle owls, which prefer rocky areas. Diurnal birds of prey include common buzzards, black kites, grey harriers and kestrels. Red kites and short-toed eagles are rarer.
Wild mammals include marmots, red deer and chamois. The Cézallier's rugged topography is characterized by significant differences in altitude. This explains why there are such wide variations in climate over such short distances. Vegetation varies according to exposure. Subalpine meadows cover the Cézallier. Here, huge herds of Salers cows spend the summer in summer pasture. Until the 1980s, these herds used the railway line to climb up to the mountain pastures. The train transported up to 10,000 head of cattle each summer. These vast meadows are home to yellow gentian, knapweed, orchids, bluebells, wild pansy, potentilla, mountain arnica, brunelle, bedstraw, martagon lily and pulsatilla anemone.
The montane zone is limited to the gorges. Beech forests occupy the colder slopes, while the hillsides are covered with moorland, oak coppice and Scots pine.
Peat bogs of the Cézallier
The cool, wet climate of the Cézallier, combined with the relief inherited from volcanism and glacial erosion (sunken basins), has led to the development of numerous peat bogs. The icy winter puts an end to the vegetative period, which is limited to the summer season. Evaporation from the surface causes the water to cool at depth. The water temperature can reach 0 °C on certain summer nights, restricting the normal decomposition process of dead plant material (the principle of peat accumulation).
In the last century and during the war, peat bogs were exploited by man. Peat clods were extracted, dried in the open air and burned in stoves in winter. This gentle exploitation was not destructive, as the bog had time to reconstitute itself. Two peat bogs are still industrially exploited for horticultural purposes at Landeyrat and Picherande.
Some peat bogs are home to rare flora and fauna, notably the yellow-flowered Siberian lousewort. They are protected by measures such as the Sagnes de La Godivelle national nature reserve.
History
Bronze and Iron Ages Between 2500 and 1500 BC, man began to colonize the Cézallier region. They came from the Alagnon and Allier valleys and gradually cleared the forest with fire. The land was transformed into pasture for sheep.
The men of this era left burial mounds and tombs in their wake. The deceased were first cremated, then a low stone wall was built around the hearth, followed by offerings and, finally, a mound of earth. The largest burials, the tumuli, are around 15 m in diameter; they were reserved for the most important people (undoubtedly the chiefs). Ordinary people were buried in smaller tombs, known as tombelles, which were around 5 m in diameter.