Signal de Botrange

Signal de Botrange experiences stronger winds than the centre of Belgium. Average and extreme temperatures are usually lower than at any other place in Belgium: the minimum temperature recorded () does not, however, exceed the absolute record (), observed in the valley of the Lomme, at Rochefort during a temperature inversion. In winter, for three months, on average, the average temperature remains below . Rainfall is much greater than most of the rest of the country, at an annual average of compared with in Uccle: there are over 200 days of precipitation per year (against just over 170 in Uccle). Maximum temperatures in summer rarely exceed . The number of days of frost is over 130 days per year and the number of days of snowfall exceeds 35 days. The maximum thickness of snow was measured on 9 February 1953, at of snow. Frost and early snowfall can occur in late September, but that is exceptional. Late snow may sometimes occur until mid-May. At the height of winter the site is used as the start of a number of cross-country skiing routes. == Towers and Transmitters ==

In 1923, the Baltia tower was built on the summit to allow visitors to reach an altitude of . A stone tower built in 1933/34 by François Fagnoul from Ovifat on the Botrange crowned a steel weather vane with the relieved name SICCO CAMPO until World War II. Meanwhile, the spire serves as transmitter of Radio Contact and reaches a de facto height of . In November 2013, at the Signal de Botrange, a tower with parabolic antennas was agreed to provide data interchange by Microwave transmission between London Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange, because the data transmission via Communications satellite or fibre optic involves a small delay, which interferes the stock exchange trading. The data transfer takes place in real time via the intermediate station Botrange, which was set up directly next to the existing tower. == Hydrography ==

The summit of Belgium is home on its flanks to several sources of Ardennes rivers, all belonging to the Mosan basin, including the Helle, Roer and Schwarzbach to the north (but flowing here to the east), Bayehon to the south, and the Trôs Marets to the west. As in the names of these rivers, although the Signal de Botrange is not a state border, it marks a language border in the area between the Romance languages (south and west) and Germanic languages (north and east) ==References==