Dwight Peck's farm photos

Farms of the Jura in winter

The Jura mountains run in a southwest-northeast direction along the border between France and Switzerland, from Geneva (Genève) to Basel (Bâle), holding at about 1300-1400 meters altitude (4350-4500 feet), and peaking in the range of 1650 meters (5450 feet). These photos of high alpage farms in winter are mainly from the southwestern end of that range, between the cities of Geneva and Vallorbe.

Rionde Dessous

Rionde Dessous, the "lower" Rionde, is at 1314m above the road from Marchairuz to La Bassine -- Rionde Dessus, the "upper" Rionde, lies across the far side of that road to the northwest at 1325m, only marginally "upper".

That road on the left is the only other paved road over the mountain between the Bassins road and the Col du Marchairuz -- it comes up from the La Côte village of Le Vaud past the commune's farm, the Perroude du Vaud (1371m) along the front ridge of the Jura and, as here, drops down to the Bassine-Marchairuz through the Combe d'Amburnex.

From the north-northeast, 9 December 2006

Most of the mountain farms in this region were built in the period 1750 to 1780 or so, nearly all in the same style and many by two brothers from Le Brassus.

It's snowing harder, night is falling, and I want to get some photos of the farm at Pré aux Veaux before clearing out back down the mountain. 9 December 2006

The farm of Rionde ("Riondaz") Dessous in April 2002, from the northeast, with Monts Sala and Pelé on the horizon.


from SwitzerlandMobility (http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en)

The farm of Rionde Dessus (the "upper" one) is just across the road.

The farm of Rionde Dessous on 8 November 2009. Enough light to see by, but there's no need for the +75 sunblock yet.

6 December 2009

Rionde, according to Henry Suter, is a patois version of an Old French borrowing from Latin that seems to mean something like "sort of round, but kind of irregular". La Riondaz, the Leysin mountain on the slopes of which I lived for many years, has the same derivation.


Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 9 December 2006, revised 22 October 2014, 18 January 2020.


Farms of the Jura in winter


More farms of the Jura