massif n : a block of the earth's crust bounded by faults and shifted to form peaks of a mountain range

English

Etymology

1885 , massif, adjective, from Middle French

Noun

1. A principal mountain mass.
2. A block of the earth's crust bounded by faults or flexures and displaced as a unit without internal change; normally consists of gneisses and schists

Translations

• French: massif
• German: Massiv
• Hebrew: מִקְשֵׁה הָרִים (mikshe hɑrim) , גוש הרים (gush hɑrim) , מַסִּיף (massif)
• Russian: массив (massív)

French

Pronunciation

Noun

fr-noun m

1. massif

Adjective

1. massive

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 is also used to refer to a group of mountains formed by such a structure. The massif is a smaller structural unit of the crust than a tectonic plate.

The word is taken from French (in which the word also means "massive"), 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.

List of massifs

• Adrar des Ifoghas - Mali
• Aïr Massif - Niger
• Annapurna Massif - Nepal
• Armorican Massif - Brittany, France
• Atlantis Massif - part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean.
• Big Ben Massif - Heard Island
• Brasilia Massif - Argentina
• Chartreuse Massif - France
• Chu Pong Massif - Vietnam (overlooks site of Battle of Ia Drang)
• Cornubian Massif - United Kingdom
• Edziza Massif - British Columbia, Canada
• Kangchenjunga Massif - India
• Kondyor Massif - Russian Federation
• Kugitangtau Ridge - Turkmenistan
• Laurentian Massif - Quebec, Canada (French: Massif des Laurentides)
• Le Massif - a ski mountain northeast of Quebec City, Canada
• Lincoln Massif - Lincoln, Vermont
• Long Mynd - England, United Kingdom
• Massif Central - France
• Massif Montgris - Spain
• Massif Mountains - a high range of mountains in Haiti
• Mont Blanc Massif- Italy/France
• Meager Massif - British Columbia, Canada
• Logan Massif - Yukon, Canada
• Nun Kun- India
• Panchchuli Massif - India
• Tondou Massif - Africa
• Vinson Massif - Antarctica
• Vitosha Massif - Bulgaria

In mountaineering and climbing literature, a massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain.

The Face on Mars is also called a massif, or alternatively, an albedo feature.http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/22/mars.face/index.html#