Division Natural factors

The geographical area for the designation of origin ‘Fourme de Montbrison’ mainly comprises the ‘hautes chaumes’ forming the summits of the Forez mountains within the departments of the Loire and the Puy-de-Dôme, as well as the eastern part of the Forez mountains. The area is a middle mountain region (with an altitude of 1 634 m at the highest point) oriented north-south overall, situated on a granite bedrock and bordered by natural boundaries. The landscape is made up of mountain and subalpine moors featuring bare plateaux with round and gentle hilltops, surrounded by mainly coniferous forest slopes. There are numerous peat bogs and meadows. Precipitation is relatively high (more than 1 000 mm a year on average). The climate is subject to an oceanic and continental influence. Average annual temperatures therefore tend to be cold, below 10 °C and often below 5 °C. The winters are long and cold, with frequent snow.

Because of the high altitude and precipitation, fodder production is essentially based on the permanent meadows.