1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Mont-Dore-les-Bains

MONT-DORE-LES-BAINS, a watering-place of central France in the department of Puy-de-Dôme, situated at a height of 3440 ft., on the right bank of the Dordogne not far from its source and 31 m. by road S.W. of Clermont-Ferrand. Pop. (1906), 1677. The Monts Dore close the valley towards the south. The thermal springs of Mont Dore, now numbering twelve, were known to the Romans. Bicarbonate of soda, iron, and arsenic are the principal ingredients of the waters, which are used both for drinking and bathing, baths of high temperature being characteristic of the treatment; they are efficacious in cases of pulmonary consumption, bronchitis, asthma, and nervous and rheumatic paralysis. From the elevation and exposure of the Valley, the climate of Mont-Dore-les-Bains is severe, and the season only lasts from the 15th of, June to the 15th of September. The bath-house was rebuilt in 1891–1894. In the “park,” along the Dordogne, relics from the old Roman baths have been collected. The surrounding country, with its fir woods, pastures, waterfalls and mountains, is very attractive. To the south is the Puy de Sancy (6188 ft.), the loftiest peak of central France.