Édouard-Alfred Martel
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Édouard-Alfred Martel
Édouard-Alfred Martel (1 July 1859, Pontoise, Val-d'Oise – 3 June 1938, Montbrison (Loire), Montbrison), the 'father of modern speleology', was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation. Martel explored thousands of caves in his native France and many other countries, popularised the pursuit of cave exploration, introduced the concept of speleology as a distinct area of scientific study, maintained an extensive archive, and in 1895 founded , the first organisation devoted to cave science in the world. Life and Exploration Édouard-Alfred Martel was born in Pontoise, Seine-et-Oise on 1 July 1859. Born into a family of lawyers, he studied at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris. Early on, he became passionate about geography and the natural sciences and in 1877 he won first prize in an open competition for geography. He was a great reader of the works of Jules Verne. In 1866, while holidaying with his parents, he visited the Caves of Gargas in the Pyrenees. Other ...
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Pontoise
Pontoise () is a commune north of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official (capital) of the Val-d'Oise '' département'', although in reality the ''préfecture'' building and administration, as well as the department council (''conseil général''), are located in the neighboring commune of Cergy, which is regarded as the ''de facto'' capital of Val-d'Oise. Pontoise is also the seat of the Arrondissement of Pontoise. The ''sous-préfecture'' building and administration, unlike the ''préfecture'', are located inside the commune of Pontoise. Sister cities The city of Pontoise has three sister city relationships with: * Böblingen, Germany since 1956 * Sevenoaks, United Kingdom since 1964 * Geleen, Netherlands since 1962 Security Known for being a violent city in the late 20th century, with a criminal rate of 137.62 incidents per 1000 inhabitants, Cergy-Pontoise has enjoyed ...
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Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as List of islands of Italy, nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the List of European countries by area, tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and List of cities in Italy, largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous List of ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, ...
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Gramat
Gramat () is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. Gramat station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Figeac and Rodez. Population Notable person * Julien Bessières (1777–1840), scientist and diplomat, was born in Gramat See also *Communes of the Lot department The following is a list of the 312 communes of the Lot department of France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Gu ... References Communes of Lot (department) Quercy {{Lot-geo-stub ...
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Padirac Cave
The Padirac Chasm ( French: ''Gouffre de Padirac'') is a cave located near Gramat, in the Lot department, Occitanie region, France. Features The chasm itself is deep, with a diameter of approximately . Visitors descend via a lift or a staircase before entering into the cave system. The cave contains a subterranean river system that is partly negotiable by boat, and it is regarded as "one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena of the Massif Central". The Padirac river continues underground for about until it flows into the Dordogne at the Montvalent Cirque. Formation The chasm was created at an undetermined point in time when the roof collapsed into a large internal cavern. It is known that the cavern existed in the 3rd century, and was inhabited during the 15th and 16th centuries, when potassium nitrate was excavated from the area. Tourism The first tourists visited the cave on 1 November 1898; however, the site was officially opened for tourism on 10 April 1899 b ...
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Jonte River
The Jonte is a river in southern France. It flows through the departments of Lozère and Aveyron. It is a tributary of the Tarn, which it joins in Le Rozier. Departments and communes along the river: * Lozère: Meyrueis, Le Rozier * Aveyron: Peyreleau Peyreleau (; ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. It lies on the river Jonte, close to its confluence with the Tarn. Population See also * Communes of the Aveyron department The following is a list of the 285 ... References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ...
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Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Populations légales 2019: 30 Gard
INSEE
its prefecture is Nîmes. The department is named after the river Gardon. In recent decades of the 21st century, local administration and French speakers have returned to the original Occitan name of the river, Gard (). It is part of a revival of Occitan culture.


His ...
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Lot (river)
The Lot (), originally the Olt (; ), is a river in France. It is a right-bank tributary of the Garonne. It rises in the Cévennes mountains, flowing west through Quercy, where it flows into the Garonne near Aiguillon, Lot-et-Garonne, Aiguillon, a total distance of . It gives its name to the ''départements'' of Lot (department), Lot and Lot-et-Garonne. The Lot is prone to flooding in the winter and spring, and has many dams in its upper catchment area, mainly on the Truyère, which produce hydroelectric power of strategic importance for the French national grid. Turbining can cause additional variations in flow throughout the 275 km of the river that has been extensively developed as an asset for tourism in the region. The major project to restore navigability of the river Lot was conceived by local stakeholders in Decazeville and Cahors in the 1970s. It meant restoring the many locks, and bypassing the medium-head dams built at five locations along the former waterway. Olt ...
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Dourbie
The Dourbie (; ) is a long river in southern France. It is a left tributary of the Tarn. Its source is north of Le Vigan, in the Cévennes. It flows generally west through the following departments and towns: * Gard: Dourbies * Aveyron: Saint-Jean-du-Bruel, Nant The Dourbie flows into the Tarn at Millau Millau (; ) is a commune in Occitania, France. Located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers, the town is a subprefecture of the Aveyron department. Millau is known for its Viaduct, glove industry and several nearby natural .... References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Gard Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ...
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Jonte (river)
The Jonte is a river in southern France. It flows through the departments of Lozère and Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro .... It is a tributary of the Tarn, which it joins in Le Rozier. Departments and communes along the river: * Lozère: Meyrueis, Le Rozier * Aveyron: Peyreleau References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ...
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Gorges Du Tarn
The Gorges du Tarn () is a canyon formed by the Tarn (river) between the Causse Méjean and the Causse de Sauveterre, in southern France. The canyon, mainly located in the Lozère ''département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...'', and partially in the Aveyron ''département'', is about -long (from the village of Quézac, Lozère, Quézac to Le Rozier, from to ) and 400 m to 600 m deep. Geography and geology The gorges landscape involves Mesozoic limestone plateaux downstream presenting sub-vertical cliffs. Fault (geology), Faults like the Hauterive Fault explain the important water sources in the region of Sainte-Enimie (the ''Burle'' source and the ''Coussac'' source, the latter joining the Tarn (river), Tarn in an impressive waterfall), and the more ...
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Causses
The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaux (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin (région), Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river Canyons, gorges cut through the plateaux, such as the Gorges du Tarn, Tarn, Dourbie, Jonte (river), Jonte, Lot (river), Lot, Vis (river), Vis, and Aveyron (river), Aveyron. ''Causse'' is an Occitan language, Occitan word meaning "limestone plateau" coming from the latin word calx meaning limestone or chalk. The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2011, because of the region's extensive and continuous use of Mediterranean pastoral systems and their testimony to the traditional methods of transhumance. Since at least the Bronze Age, the Causses were used for sheep and cattle droving, and in the Middle Ages, religious orders established in the area, buildi ...
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Seine (department)
Seine is a former department of France, which encompassed Paris and its immediate suburbs. It was the only enclaved department of France, being surrounded entirely by the former Seine-et-Oise department. Its prefecture was Paris and its INSEE number was 75. The Seine department was disbanded in 1968 and its territory divided among four new departments: Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne."En 1964 naissaient les nouveaux départements de la petite couronne"
'' La Dépêche'', 10 July 2014.


General characteristics

From 1929 to its abolition in 1968, the department consis ...
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