March 1, 2020

2221, 3388, 3411, 3428, 3443 FRANCE (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) - Chartreuse Mountains

2221 Chartreuse Mountains (1)

Located in southeastern France, the Chartreuse Mountains rises between Grenoble (south), Chambéry (north), Voiron and Saint-Laurent-du-Pont (west) and Grésivaudan Valley. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps. The monastic Carthusian Order takes its name from these mountains, where its first hermitage, Grande Chartreuse, was founded in 1084.

The desert road in Chartreuse
3428 The desert road in Chartreuse

Also derived from the mountain range's name is that of the alcoholic cordial Chartreuse produced by the monks since the 1740s, and of the chartreuse colour, named after the drink. The east flank falls abruptly almost 2,000m to the Isère valley, while to the west, the high ground falls away towards the Rhône valley. It is separated from the Vercors upland area to the south also by the Isère river, which swings round to the west at Grenoble on its way towards the Rhône.

Chartreuse Mountains
3388 Chartreuse Mountains (2)

Above the meadows in the valleys, wooded ridges rise up steeply towards steep limestone cliffs. Above these, may be found a hidden world of high altitude plateaus and valleys, vegetated with grassland and dwarf forest. The highest summit in the Chartreuse Mountains is Chamechaude (2,082 m), the third most prominent mountain (1,769m) in metropolitan France. Other important summits include Dent de Crolles (2,062m), Grand Som (2026m) and Mont Granier (1,933m).

3443 Chartreuse Mountains (4)

These are limestone mountains with rather large precipices. Mont Granier is known because in the year 1248, a mass of limestone resting on marls slid into the valley, causing a massive landslide that destroyed many villages and caused over a thousand casualties. This event created the sheer 700 m north face of the mountain.

3411 Chartreuse Mountains (3)

About the stamps
On the postcard 2221

france stamp

The first stamp, designed by Pierre Forget and issued on September 11, 1995, depicts André Maginot (1877-1932), was a French civil servant, soldier, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his advocacy of the string of forts that would be known as the Maginot Line.

France stamp

The last stamp, designed by Jean Gosselin, was issued on January 24, 1995, to celebrate the European Notariat.

On the postcard 3388
The first stamp is part of the series Tourism, about which I wrote here.
 

The last stamp is part of the minisheet Photovoltaic Plant, Tromelin Island, designed by Sylvie Patte & Tanguy Besset and issued on January 2, 2019.
• Photovoltaic plant and bird (0.95 EUR) - It's on the postcard 3388
• Photovoltaic plant and turtoise (0.95 EUR)

On the postcard 3411
The first stamp is part of the series Kerguelen Island - Lake Sediment Sampling Program, designed by Raphaëlle Coineau and issued by French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF) on January 2, 2019.
• Barge of coring of lake sediments (0.95 RON)
• Coring barge on Lac d'Armor (1.35 RON) - It's on the postcard 3411
• Lake sediment study programs (2.70 RON)

The second stamp, depicting Bay-breasted warbler / Setophaga castanea, is part of the large series Birds, designed by Patrick Boez and issued by Saint Pierre and Miquelon (a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France) over several years.

The last stamp is part of the minisheet Photovoltaic Plant, Tromelin Island,about which I wrote above.

On the postcard 3428
The first stamp is part of the series Franco-Swedish Cultural Relations, issued on March 18, 1994. About the second stamp, Arphila 75 Paris - Letters, I wrote here.
References
Chartreuse Mountains - summitpost.org
Chartreuse Mountains - Wikipedia

On the postcard 3443


The first stamp, designed by René Cottet, was issued on January 6, 1968, to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Postal Check Service.


The second stamp, designed by Alain Le Foll, was issued on July 15, 1972, to mark the Year of Pedestrian Tourism.


The last stamp, an ATM issue, is a composition by Roland Irolla showing the Marne valley, as seen from Hautvilliers, and the Portail Saint-Martin at the right side, issued to mark Spring Philatelic Fair (Épernay 2012).

Sender 2221: Kiko
Sent from Pontcharra (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 02.11.2015
Sender 3388, 3411, 3428, 3443: Jean-Yves Gerlat
3388, 3411: Sent from Lancey / Villard-Bonnot (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 16.01.2020
Photo: Charles Grange
3428: Sent from Lancey / Villard-Bonnot (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 11.12.2019
3443: Sent from Lancey / Villard-Bonnot (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 18.01.2020
Photo: Charles Grange

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