The Vosges Mountains are home to numerous species of wild animals. There are mountains, valleys, vast forests and fields. In the southern Vosges the landscape is shaped by traditional Alpine farming. In the Northern Vosges, on the other hand, forests rich in species often reach higher slopes, interrupted only by deeply cracked sandstone outcrops towering above the trees. In the nature reserve of the Northern Vosges, large areas are protected from logging and agricultural crops. The domed peaks of the southern Vosges are mostly unvegetated. They are called balloons and only rarely can you encounter a wind-hardened beech tree. In the northern Vosges, ancient sounds echo. Autumn turns the Vosges deciduous forest into a sea of colors. The trees will soon lose all their leaves. The Vosges forest must wait until spring before it comes to life again.