VOSGES, an upland department of eastern France, formed in 1790 chiefly of territory previously belonging to Lorraine, to gether with portions of Franche-Comte and Champagne, and bounded north by Meurthe-et-Moselle, north-east by Bas-Rhin, east by Haut-Rhin, south-east by the territory of Belfort, south by Haute-Saone, west by Haute-Marne and north-west by Meuse. Pop. (1931), 377,98o; area, 2,303 sq.m. The Vosges mountains form a natural boundary on the east, their highest French eminence, the Hohneck, attaining 4,482 f t. The Monts Faucilles traverse the south of the department in a broad curve declining on the north into elevated plateaux, on the south en circling the upper basin of the Saone. This chain, dividing the basins of the Rhone and the Rhine, forms part of the European watershed between the basins of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The Moselle and the Meuse, tributaries of the Rhine, have the largest drainage areas in the department ; a small district in the north-west sends its waters to the Seine, the rest belongs to the basin of the Rhone. The Moselle rises in the Col de Bussang in the extreme south-east, and in a north-north-westerly course of about 7o m. in the department receives the Moselotte and the Vologne on the right ; the Mortagne and Meurthe on the right and the Madon on the left bank also belong to this department though they join the Moselle outside its borders.
The elevation and the northward exposure of the valleys make the climate severe, and a constant dampness prevails, owing both to the abundance of the rainfall and to the impermeability of the subsoil. The winter average temperature reduced to sea-level is 34° to 35°, the summer average temperature being 66° to 68°.
The rainfall varies from 28 in. to 6o in., according to the altitude.
Arable farming flourishes in the western districts where wheat, oats, beetroot, tobacco, hops, potatoes and hemp are largely grown.
The vine is cultivated on the river banks, to best advantage on those of the Moselle. Pasture is abundant in the mountainous region, where cheese-making is carried on to some extent, but the best grazing is in the central valleys. Forests, which occupy large tracts on the flanks of the Vosges, cover about one-third of the department, and are a principal source of its wealth. Sawmills are numerous in the Vosges and the manufactures of furniture, sabots, brushes and wood-working in general are prominent in dustries. The department has mines of lignite and stone quarries of various kinds. There are numerous mineral springs, notably those of Contrexeville, Plombieres, Vittel, Bains-les-Bains, Mar tigny-les-Bains and Bussang. Metal goods are made, but the manufacture of textiles is the chief industry, comprising the spinning and weaving of cotton, wool, silk, hemp and flax, and the manufacture of hosiery and of embroidery and lace, Mirecourt (Polo. 4,747), which also makes musical instruments, being an important centre for the two last. The department forms the diocese of St. Die (province of Besancon), has its court of appeal and educational centre at Nancy, and belongs to the dis trict of the XX. Army Corps. It is divided into three arrondisse ments of Epinal, the capital, Neuf chateau and St. Die, with 29 cantons and 531 communes.