Here’s a card from France! Shown is a view of the Southern Vosges, part of the Vosges Mountains of eastern France. The Vosges Mountains are known for their smooth, round peaks, which stand in contrast to what one might typically imagine when thinking of a mountain range. They’re pretty heavily forested as well, with 60% of its area covered in coniferous vegetation (like pine trees). The Vosges Mountains sit in a three-way sandwich between the regions of Lorraine (in the west), Alsace (in the east – you’ve probably heard this name before), and Franche-Comté (in the south). Something cool that I wanted to point out is about the climate of these mountains with respect to the regions it divides. With airstreams that come from the west and southwest, the Lorraine side of the mountains experiences generally colder temperatures and more rainfall than the Alsatian side. Why might this be the case? It has to do with how the air cools and condenses as it ascends the western side, forming rainclouds. As it loses moisture, it leads to warmer air on the eastern side. There’s a city in Alsace known as Colmar that’s deemed as one of France’s driest cities because of this phenomenon. So yeah, there’s a bit of weather trivia for ya. And if you’re not a big weather enthusiast, you can simply admire the verdant grass here on this card instead. Thank you so much for sharing this neat card with me!
