Orographically the range is divided from south to north into four sections :—the Grandes Vosges (62 miles), extending from Belfort to the valley of the Bruche; the Central Vosges (31 miles), between the Bruche and the Col de Saverne; the Lower Vosges (30 miles), between the Col de Saverne and the source of the Lauter; and the Hardt (25 miles). The rounded summits of the Grandes Vosges are called “ballons.” The departments of Vosges and Haute Saône are divided from Alsace and the territory of Belfort by the Ballon d’Alsace or St Maurice (4100 feet). Thence northwards the average height of the range is 3000 feet, the highest point of all, the Ballon de Guebwiller (Gebweiler) or Soultz, rising on the east to a height of 4680 feet. The Col de Saales, between the Grandes Vosges and the central section, is 1900 feet high; the latter is both lower and narrower than the Grandes Vosges, the Mont Donon and other chief heights not exceeding 3300 feet. The railway from Paris to Strasburg and the Rhine and Marne Canal traverse the Col de Saverne (1085 feet). No railway crosses the Vosges between Saverne and Belfort, but there are very good carriage roads over the passes of Bussang (2410 feet) from Remire-mont to Thann, the Schlucht (3746 feet) from Gérardmer to Munster, the Bon Homme (3100 feet) from St Dié to Colmar, and from St Dié to St Marie-aux-Mines (2625 feet). The Lower Vosges are a sandstone plateau ranging from 1000 to 1850 feet high, and are crossed by the railway from Hagenau to Sarreguemines, defended by the fort of Bitche. The Hardt, a sterile region, covered with heath and low brushwood, has for its highest point the Donnersberg (Mont Tonnerre), 2264 feet high; it is traversed through deep ravines by the railways from Deux-Ponts to Laudau, and from Kaiserslautern to Spires and Worms. Meteorologically, the difference between the eastern and western versants of the range is very marked, the annual rainfall being much higher and the mean temperature being much lower in the latter than in the former. On the eastern slope the vine ripens to a height of 1300 feet; on the other hand, its only rivers are the Ill and other shorter streams, which afford water-power rather by their rapid fall than by their abundance. The Moselle, Meurthe, and Sarre all rise on the Lorraine side. Moraines, boulders, and polished rocks testify the existence of the glaciers which formerly covered the Vosges. The lakes, surrounded by pines, beeches, and maples, the green meadows where hundreds of cows with tinkling bells peacefully graze, and the fine views of the Rhine valley, Black Forest, and snow-covered Swiss mountains combine to make the district charmingly picturesque. The lower heights and buttresses of the main chain on the Alsatian side are covered with numerous castles, generally in ruins, in connexion with which curious legends and interesting historical incidents are told. At several points on the main ridge, especially at St Odile above Ribeauvillé (Rappoltsweiler), are the remains of a wall of unmortared stone with tenons of wood, 6 to 7 feet thick and 4 to 5 feet high, called the pagan wall (Mur Payen). It was certainly used for local defence in the Middle Ages, and archaeologists are divided as to whether it was built for this purpose by the Romans, or before their arrival.

VOSGES, a frontier department of eastern France, was formed in 1790, for the most part of territory previously belonging to Lorraine, with fragments of Franche-Comté, Champagne, and Alsace. The portion belonging to Alsace was ceded to Germany in 1871. Lying between 47° 48' and 48° 32' N. lat., and 5° 22' and 7° 10' E. long., the department is bounded by Alsace-Lorraine on the E. and by the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle on the N., Meuse on the N.W., Haute-Marne on the W., and Haute-Saône on the S. The Vosges Mountains form a natural boundary on the E. The highest point is the Hohneck (4482 feet) near the Schlucht. The south of the department is traversed by the Monts Faucilles (2000 feet), which form part of the European watershed, separating the basins of the Rhine and the Rhone. The Moselle and the Meuse, tributaries of the Rhine, have the largest drainage areas in the department; a small district in the north-west belongs to the basin of the Seine (Ornain and Marne), the rest to that of the Rhone. The Moselle rises in the Col de Bussang, and in a N.W. course of 75 miles receives the Moselotte and Vologne on the right; the Mortagne and the Meurthe on the right and the Madon on the left bank also belong to Vosges, though they join the Moselle outside the department. The source of the Saône is on the south-east slope of the Monts Faucilles, and the Canal de l'Est follows the course of the Coney, a tributary of the left bank. The height above the sea, the northward exposure of the valleys, and the impervious subsoil combine to make the climate severe; the average temperature at Épinal (1070 feet) is 49° F. The annual rainfall is 24 inches at Épinal, 31 at St Dié, and more in the mountains.

Of a total area of 1,452,181 acres, arable land occupies 603,201 acres, grass 199,839, wood 361,526, heath, pasture, and uncultivated land 81,486, and vineyards 12,054. The live stock in 1881 included 31,811 horses (of a small but strong breed), 357 asses and mules, 143,827 cattle, 45,634 sheep, 81,488 pigs, 19,615 goats, more than 17,000 dogs, 500,000 head of poultry; 17,952 beehives yielded 43 tons 7 cwts. of honey and 18 tons 11 cwts. of wax. 872 tons of cheese were made at Gérardmer. The crops in 1884 were—wheat 1,911,470 bushels, meslin 494,483, rye 710,627, barley 103,262, oats 3,225,755, buckwheat 63,409, potatoes 17,787,404, dry vegetables 45,974, fodder beetroot 25,060 tons, tobacco 33 tons, hops 79 tons, hemp seed 138 tons, hemp 99 tons, linseed 39 tons, flax 22 tons, hemp, flax, and poppy oils 94 tons, colza seed 206 tons, fodder 457,383 tons, wine 2,869,000 gallons (average of preceding ten years 3,964,441). The department stands first in France for the extent and importance of the woods under forest rule, though only third for the actual area of forest land. The state owns one-third of the forests, private individuals one-fifth, and the communes the rest. Oaks, beeches, hornbeams, birches, aspens, and maples thrive on the plains, beeches and oaks on the higher grounds, and firs, beeches, and pines on the mountains. The annual value of timber produced is £280,000, and 9,000,000 fir planks, besides other kinds, are annually cut in 300 sawmills. Traces of gold are found, and the department contains silver and lead mines, copper ore, iron ore (4530 tons of iron annually), zinc, manganese, cobalt, and antimony. In 1884, 681 tons of coal were mined, and in 1882 1595 tons of peat were dug; 1336 persons are employed in 432 quarries of marble, sandstone, granite, and building and lithographic stones. The department is rich in hot, cold, sulphate, sodic, calcium, iron, bicarbonate, and gaseous mineral springs. Those at Plombières were known to the Romans. 37,000 hands are employed in the manufacture of pig and cast iron (for all which wood is the chief fuel) and wares of iron and steel. The cotton industry (135,000 looms and 423,724 spindles) has been largely developed since 1871; canvas and linen are woven at Gérardmer (3000 looms). The manufacture of cloth employs 500 workmen, of lace 1000, embroidery by the hand and loom 40,000 workwomen, silk spinning 1000 spindles. Wool is spun and hosiery manufactured. Coopers’ work (over 300 tons) is exported, as are also sabots. At Épinal several hundred workmen are engaged in the manufacture of images; and musical instruments are made at Mirecourt. 1000 workmen are employed in glass-works, and 1937 in paper-mills (10,000 tons of paper and cardboard). The department contains in all 409 industrial establishments; 200,000 tons of coal are imported. There are 281 miles of railway, 177 of national roads, and 3096 of other roads. The Eastern Canal connects the Saône with the Moselle and Meuse. The population in 1881 was 408,862, of whom 189,176 were engaged in agriculture and 131,253 in manufactures; the population in 1886 was 413,707. The department forms the diocese of St Dié, has its court of appeal and academy at Nancy, belongs to the district of the corps d’armée of Châlons-sur-Marne, and is divided for administrative purposes into 5 arrondissements (Épinal, Mirecourt, Neufchâteau, Remiremont, St Dié), 29 cantons, and 530 communes. The chef-lieu is Épinal.