The Jura massif has a new highest point, at an altitude of 1,720 metres. This is located in the Haute Chaîne nature reserve, but its exact coordinates have not been communicated.
The Crêt de la Neige is no longer the highest point in the Jura massif, which is over 360 kilometres long and runs between France and Switzerland. A new peak, named “J1”, named in reference to K2 in the Karakorum in Pakistan, has regained this honorary status from the top of its 1,720.8 metres of altitude, according to a study by the University of Lausanne, released on Monday 9 September.
The “J1” exceeds by a few centimeters the Crêt de la Neige which is measured at 1,718 meters of altitude. This one exceeds by a few centimeters another peak recently measured and named “J2.”
His contact details kept secret
“J1 had not attracted much attention until now, probably because it is not very visible, surrounded by trees, and because traditional triangulation calculation methods are based on the intervisibility of the peaks,” explains geophysicist György Hetényi, co-author of the study, in a press release.
Its exact coordinates are not communicated to the public, the mountain being located in a protected area, scientists explain. The Haute Chaîne du Jura national nature reserve is home to rare species such as the capercaillie and the lynx, whose balance is “very sensitive to human wanderings, and in particular off-trail”.
The measurements were made using GPS antennas placed at the top of each peak, leaving a margin of error of 5 centimeters for the height of J1.
