Belfort Chaux Airport Live Cam

Geological Foundations and Early Settlements

La Chaux, a locality within the commune of Sermamagny in the Territoire de Belfort department, is nestled at the foot of the southern Jura Mountains. Its name—derived from the Old French word for “lime” (calcium oxide)—reflects the region’s extensive limestone outcrops. These sedimentary formations, deposited during the Late Jurassic period approximately 150 million years ago, give rise to karstic features: dolines, small sinkholes, and subterranean cavities that have shaped human settlement patterns for millennia. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers exploited natural shelters within these limestone cliffs, leaving behind flint tools and faunal remains that attest to seasonal camps near freshwater springs emerging from the karst system.