a department of the N.E. of France, formed out of the S. part of the old province of Lorraine, bounded on the N. by the departments of Meuse and Meurthe, E. by those of Bas and Haut Rhin, S. by that of Haute Saone, and W. by that of Haute Marne. Length, from E. to W., 76 miles; mean breadth, 38; area, 2304 square miles. It derives its name from the Vosges mountains, a chain which forms the W. boundary of the valley of the Rhine, running northwards along the borders of Haut and Bas Rhin on the E., and of Haute Saone, Vosges, and Meurthe, on the W.; and extending beyond the boundaries of France into Rhenish Bavaria, where it terminates at Mont Tonnerre, on the left bank of the Rhine. These mountains are connected by various ramifications with the Jura range in the S., with the mountains of the Cote d'Or in the S.W., and with the Ardennes in the N.W. Their average height is from 3000 to 4000 feet; and some of the summits, which from their rounded forms are called ballons, are covered with snow for several months in the year. The two loftiest peaks in the chain are the Ballon de Guebwiller, 4650 feet, and the Ballon d'Alsace, 4116 feet, both in the S.E. border of the department of Vosges. Another range, called the Faucilles, diverges from the Vosges towards the W., and traverses in that direction the S. of the department. The rest of the department is hilly, and is known by the name of the Plain. Vosges