page_title: Massif
section_title: Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Massif / List of massifs / Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: Pirin mountain, panoramic view from Razlog valley.
context_page_description: In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a group of mountains formed by such a structure.
  In mountaineering and climbing literature, a massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain. The massif is a smaller structural unit of the crust than a tectonic plate and is considered the fourth largest driving force in geomorphology.
  The word is taken from French, where it is used to refer to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. One of the most notable European examples of a massif is the Massif Central of the Auvergne region of France.
  The Face on Mars is an example of an extraterrestrial massif.
  Massifs may also form underwater, as with the Atlantis Massif.
context_section_description: Alpilles – France
  Aravis Range – France
  Ardennes Massif – France/Belgium/Luxembourg
  Areskutan – Sweden
  Armorican Massif – Brittany, France
  Bauges Massif – France
  Beaufortain Massif – France
  Ben Nevis massif – Scotland, United Kingdom
  Bohemian Massif – Czech Republic
  Bornes Massif – France
  Calanques Massif
  Ceahlău Massif – Romania
  Cerces Massif
  Chablais Massif – France
  Chartreuse Massif – France
  Cornubian Massif – United Kingdom
  Dévoluy Massif – France
  Massif des Écrins – France
  Gotthard Massif – Switzerland
  Jungfrau Massif – Switzerland
  Jura Mountains – France
  Lauzière massif
  L'Esterel Massif
  Long Mynd – England, United Kingdom
  Lubéron – France
  Massif Central – France
  Massiccio del Matese - Italy
  Mangerton Mountain – Ireland
  Mercantour – France
  Montgris – Spain
  Montserrat – Spain
  Mont Blanc massif – Italy/France/Switzerland
  Massiccio del Pollino - Italy
  Rila - Rhodope Massif – Bulgaria/Greece
  Sila Massif – Italy
  Snowdon Massif – Wales, United Kingdom
  Taillefer Massif – France
  Troodos – Cyprus
  Untersberg – Germany/Austria
  Queyras Massif – France
  Vanoise Massif – France
  Vercors Plateau – France
  Vitosha Massif – Bulgaria
  Vosges Mountains – France
caption: Panorama of Pirin Mountain massif, Bulgaria
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