Massif Central

American  

[ma-seef sahn-tral] / ma sif sɑ̃ˈtral /

noun

1. a great plateau and the chief water divide of France, in the central part.

---

Massif Central British  

/ masif sɑ̃tral /

noun

1. a mountainous plateau region of S central France, occupying about one sixth of the country: contains several extinct volcanic cones, notably Puy de Dôme, 1465 m (4806 ft). Highest point: Puy de Sancy, 1886 m (6188 ft). Area: about 85 000 sq km (33 000 sq miles)

---

Example Sentences

On Monday, the race takes in eight categorised climbs on Bastille Day as it travels 165.3km from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy in the Massif Central.

From BBC • Jul. 13, 2025

Woods then dropped Jorgenson at ease and reached the summit of the Puy de Dome, a famed volcanic crater in the Massif Central region of south-central France that last hosted a stage 35 years ago.

From Washington Times • Jul. 9, 2023

The ninth stage on July 9 sees a spectacular climb to Puy-de-Dome, a famed volcanic crater in the Massif Central region of south-central France which last hosted a stage 35 years ago.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2022

Squeezed between the crossing of the Vosges and Massif Central mountains, the stage took the peloton from Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saone.

From Washington Post • Jul. 12, 2019

Its most striking feature is the mountainous and eruptive area known as the Massif Central, which covers south-central France.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 7 "Fox, George" to "France" by Various