or Montréal (German Münster), a town of France, capital of an arrondissement of the same name, in the department of Doubs, is situated at the confluence of the Allan and the Luzino, 48 miles N.E. of Besançon. The town is well built, and adorned by several fountains. The principal buildings are—the castle, now used as a prison, situated on an eminence; the town-hall; and the churches of St George and St Martin. The manufactures consist of silk, cotton, and woollen fabrics; leather, clocks, watches; scythes, and other implements of husbandry. There is also an active trade carried on in timber, corn, cheese, &c., with Switzerland and the south. Montbéliard was in former times a place of some strength, and the capital of a county that originally formed part of the kingdom of Burgundy, but was transferred to the Wurtemberg family in 1395. Although twice taken by the French in the seventeenth century, it was not finally ceded to them till 1796. Pop. (1851) 5605.

MONT BLANC, the highest mountain in Europe, belongs to the Pennine Alps, and is situated on the confines of Savoy and Piedmont. This mountain, along with the adjacent branches, forms an oval mass, extending from N.E. to S.W., between Mont Cagnotte, above Martigny, and the Col du Bonhomme, a distance of 30 miles; and having a breadth of 13 miles between Chamouni and Courmayeur. The appearance of Mont Blanc, when viewed from Chamouni, is that of a round smooth summit, covered with snow, and towering above the other peaks of the same group. The colour of the summit is generally an orange-yellow when lighted by the sun; but at sunset and sunrise the most remarkable and beautiful changes of appearance take place. When the sun's rays have ceased to illuminate the lower mountains, and Mont Blanc alone has the light of the sun still shining on it, its bright hue appears much brighter by reason of the contrast with the surrounding darkness; it assumes a clear roseate tint, and its lustre is sometimes nearly equal to that of the stars. Soon after, however, this brightness passes away as the sun's light is gradually withdrawn, and the mountain assumes a pale-blue appearance. This is owing to the contrast between the mountain, now in the shade, and the thin clouds and vapours which hang above it, and are still lighted by the sun. The geological structure of the central mass of Mont Blanc, as well as of the group of mountains to which it belongs, is granite; but on the sides are found strata of limestone, sloping upwards from the centre; while on the further side of the valleys by which the mountain group is bounded, the limestone strata slope in an opposite direction; and beyond these granite is again found. From the central summit of Mont Blanc many ridges branch out in all directions; between which are ravines, filled with glaciers, and sloping down to the valleys on each side. These valleys are four in number, and form the separation between the group of Mont Blanc and the rest of the Alps. They are separated from each other by ridges, called cols, of comparatively small height, which join Mont Blanc at various points to the other mountains. The valley of Chamouni lies to the N.W. of Mont Blanc, and is bounded at its head by the Col de Balme. It is watered by the Arve, which flows in a S.W. direction to the foot of the valley, where it turns N.W., and flows round the Col de Voza and the Col de Forclaz, which separate the valley of Chamouni from that of Montjoie. The latter valley, which bounds Mont Blanc on the W., is traversed by the swift stream of Bon Nant, which flows northward, and joins the Arve below the point where these two valleys finally unite. The head of the valley of Montjoie is formed by the Col du Bonhomme and the Col des Fours, on the S. side of which rise the head waters of the Isere, which flow directly away from Mont Blanc. The S.E. and E. boundaries of the mountain group are formed by the Allée Blanche and the valley of Ferret. The head of the Allée Blanche is formed by the Col de la Seigne, from which the valley extends in a N.E. direction, being traversed by one of the main streams of the Doire, a tributary of the Po. The other branch of this river flows in an opposite direction, from the Col de Ferret through part of the valley of Ferret; and both streams join a short distance above Courmayeur. The Col de Ferret divides the valley of the same name into two parts, or rather into two distinct valleys, the Piedmontese and the Swiss, the latter of which extends northwards as far as Mont Cagnotte, the north-eastern extremity of the group of Mont Blanc. The Col de la Forclaz extends to the N. between Mont Cagnotte and the Col de la Balme. The main ridge of the Alps consists of the Col de Ferret, which extends eastward to the Great St Bernard, and the Col de Seigne, which stretches southward to the Little St Bernard. The principal glaciers which descend into the valley of Chamouni are,—the Glacier du Tour, the Glacier d'Argentière, the Glacier des Bois, the Glacier des Bossons, and the Glacier de Tacconay; in the valley of Montjoie the chief are those of Bionnassay, Niage, and Trelat; in the Allée Blanche,—the Glacier de l'Estellette, the Glacier de l'Allée Blanche, the Glacier de Miage, forming the opposite side of that of the same name in the valley of Montjoie, and the Glacier de la Brenva. In the Piedmontese valley of Ferret there are the Glacier de Mont Frety, that of Entraves, the Glacier de Rochefort, the Glacier de la Grande Jorasse, the Glacier de Triolet, and the Glacier de Mondolent. The glaciers in the Swiss valley of Ferret are not of great size; and the only other remarkable one is that of Trient, which stretches northward between the Col de la Forclaz and the Col de Balme. There are also several glaciers in the centre of the mountain group; the principal of which is the Mer de Glace, which forms the upper portion of the Glacier des Bois. The height of Mont Blanc is 15,744 feet above the level of the sea; and on the S. side it rises 11,700 feet almost perpendicularly from the Allée Blanche. Its appearance from this side, accordingly, is much more imposing than when seen from Chamouni, as the acclivity consists entirely of steep and rugged rocks on which no snow lies. (See Alps.)