The Cévennes (/seɪˈvɛn/ say-VEN,[1][2][3] French: [sevɛn] ⓘ; Occitan: Cevenas IPA: [seβeno̞s]) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central.

[6] As an agriculturally-rich area, but not a suitable location for cities, the Cévennes developed a wide diversity of pastoral systems, including transhumance.

[10] Another false etymology suggests that the name comes from the Occitan word ceba (also written cebo) which means "onion", which is supposed to reference the layered structure of slate which makes up the mountains.

Cévennes National Park was created in the region in 1970 and the Parc Naturel Régional des Monts d'Ardèche also preserves some of the natural areas.

This is a socio-economic marginal region, while bio-geographically, there is altitudinal stratification and a gradient between the mountainous centre and the mediterranean littoral ecologies.

[15] The Cévennes form the south eastern fragment of the Massif Central, separated from the related Montagne Noire by the limestone Causses.

The basement rocks of granites and schists were uplifted by the Variscan orogeny forming a discontinuity, with the subsequent erosion infilling the lower voids for much of Permian and Triassic period (280–195 Ma), while changing sea levels added a thick limestone covering, with only the tops of the Cévennes protruding as islands in the Jurassic sea.

The Alpine orogeny lifted and deformed the Alps and the Pyrenees though the Massif Central acted as a rigid block, and the cover rocks remained mostly horizontal.

[16] Transhumance is most likely the beginning of human activity in the Cévennes[17]: 23  but little trace has been found of humans from the Paleolithic era except in the southern portion around Ganges and Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort which contains a large quantity of caves rich with archeological evidence such as "La Roque Aynier" (Ganges), and "Baume Dolente" (Vebron) which suggest the presence of Magdalenian peoples (17,000–12,000 BCE).

[23] In the 3rd century BCE, the Arverne Confederation was formed of several tribes who used the Cévennes as a defensive feature to prevent the Romans from taking their territories.

[24] By the time the Romans successfully conquered the area in 121 BC, several tribes of celtic Gauls were living around the Cévennes: the Ruteni in the west, the Gabali in the north, the Volcae Arecomici in the south, the Helvii in the southeast and the Vellavi in the northeast.

Julius Caesar crossed the Cévennes mountains in the winter of 52 BCE, having his soldiers clear paths in up to six feet of snow, to attack the Averne Confederation.

In 719, the Moor Al-Samh conquered Septimania as part of the Umayyad invasion of Gaul and the Franks struggled to take it back over the next several decades, but the southern slopes of the Cévennes were permanently reconquered by 752.

It was during this time that large-scale clearings took place under the lead of abbots and monks, allowing more space to be cultivated by the local people.

[28] The Edict of Nantes in 1598 gave some relief and freedom of worship to Protestants but also concentrated the power of the Catholic Church in France.

[35] 3-hour TGV from Paris, 1h30 flight from London (Luton) to Nîmes (Garons), the closest international airport and 3h30 drive from Barcelona.