Photographie – Vallée de Joux

A lovely Sunday afternoon, hiking on the ice of the frozen Lac de Joux.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Vallée de Joux is a valley of the Jura Mountains mainly in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. The valley also continues into France at its higher, south-western, end. Located 30 miles (50 km) north of Geneva and north-west of Lausanne, its mean elevation is over 3300 feet (1000 metres). There are three Swiss lakes in the Vallée de Joux : the lac de Joux (around 6 miles (10 km) long), the lac Brenet and the lac Ter. The French border runs along the northern edge of the valley until, about 10km west of the lac de Joux, the base of the valley becomes French territory. The valley then continues to climb gently towards the Lac des Rousses and the ski resort of Les Rousses.

The NE-SW orientation, and the 1000m altitude combine to make for an especially cold winter climate. Indeed, the valley is sometimes called the Vaud Siberia. The coldest weather arises when the Bise wind, which comes from the North-East, is blowing.

The Vallée de Joux is, along with Neuchâtel, the birthplace of Swiss horology and it is still the home of the most famous Swiss watch factories, like Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Patek Philippe & Co., Vacheron Constantin, and Jaeger-LeCoultre.