Division Natural factors

The geographical area for ‘Fourme d’Ambert’ is situated in a mountainous region and comprises the following:

• the area formed by the ‘Hautes Chaumes du Forez’ at the top of the Forez mountains, straddling the departments of Loire and Puy de Dôme. The ‘Hautes Chaumes’ — vast bare stretches on granite bedrock surrounded by mainly coniferous forest slopes — are an area of heavy rainfall (annual average precipitation of more than 1 000 mm) subject to continental and oceanic influence (annual average temperatures below 10 °C),

• an area essentially consisting of crystalline and volcanic plateaus interspersed with valleys, which, because of its altitude and steep slopes also has mountainous characteristics, in contrast to the low-altitude and flat Limagne area, which has a clay-limestone substrate and a drier climate.

The geographical area’s altitude and rainy climate particularly favour the growth of grass.