Jura

Jura , department (1990 pop. 249,600), E France, in Franche-Comté , bordering on Switzerland. Lons-le-Saunier is the capital. The area is a major producer of Gruyère cheese and a center for the manufacture of plastics and pipes.

Jura, France, Switzerland, UK 1. France: a department in Franche‐Comté taking its name from the Jura Mountains.2. Switzerland: a French‐speaking canton established in 1979 whose name means ‘Forested Mountain’ from the Gaulish jor or juria. The discovery of fossils in the Jura Mountains gave rise to the geologic time from c.215 to 145 million years ago known as the Jurassic Period.3. UK (Scotland): formerly Doirad Eilinn ‘Doirad's Island’ and Dure. An island in the Inner Hebrides with its present name an abbreviation of its original name meaning ‘Deer Island’ from the Old Scandinavian dýr ‘deer’ and ey.

Jura , mountain range, part of the Alpine system, E France and NW Switzerland, occupying parts of the French region of Franche-Comté and the Swiss cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel, Bern, Solothurn, and Basel. It extends in narrow, parallel ridges c.160 mi (260 km) from the Rhine River at Basel to the Rhône River SW of Geneva; Crêt de la Neige (5,652 ft/1,723 m), in France, is the highest peak. The Jura's rounded crests and summits are covered with dense pine forests and good pasture lands. The region is drained by the Doubs, the Ain, the Loué, and smaller streams. Major cities include La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, and Biel, Switzerland, and Besançon, France. Hydroelectric plants in the Jura supply power to pulp and paper, textile, and woodworking industries. Important watch industries, particularly in the Swiss towns of Le Locle, La Chaux-de-Fonds, and Grenchen, are also there. Export products from the French Jura include brierwood (for pipes), plastics, and cheese. The Jura Mts. are a popular year-round resort region. Composed of sandstone and limestone and rich in fossils, the Jura gives its name to the Jurassic period . The mountains N of Lake Constance in SW Germany are called the Swabian Jura.