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Édouard-Alfred Martel
Édouard-Alfred Martel (1 July 1859, Pontoise, Val-d'Oise – 3 June 1938, 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 trips allowed him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontoise
Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (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 inhabit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy is also considered part of Western Europe, and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. Italy covers an area of , with a population of over 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome. Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 See also *Communes of the Lot department The following is a list of the 313 communes of the Lot department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Communes of Lot (department) Quercy {{Lot-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 75 m 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". 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 by Georges Leygues, the 87th prime minister of France (then called ''président du conseil''). Today, althou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 (; oc, Peiralèu) 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 ... References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 is Nîmes. The department is named after the river ; the name of the river, Gard (), has been replacing the French name in recent decades, both administratively and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lot (river)
The Lot (), originally the Olt ( oc, Òlt; la, Oltis), 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, a total distance of . It gives its name to the ''départements'' of 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 is also the name of a ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dourbie
The Dourbie (; oc, Dorbia) 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 (; oc, Milhau ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in Southern France. One of two Subprefectures in France, subp .... References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Gard Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Le Rozier (; oc, Lo Rosièr) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Geography The river Jonte joins the Tarn in Le Rozier. See also *Communes of the Lozère department *Causse Méjean Causse Méjean is a limestone plat ... * Aveyron: Peyreleau References Rivers of France Rivers of Occitania (administrative region) Rivers of Lozère Rivers of Aveyron {{France-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorges Du Tarn
The Gorges du Tarn ( oc, Gòrjas de 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'', and partially in the Aveyron ''département'', is about -long (from the village of Quézac to Le Rozier, from to ) and 400 m to 600 m deep. Geography and geology The architecture of the gorges involves Mesozoic limestone plateaux downstream presenting sub-vertical cliffs. 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 in an impressive waterfall), and the more complex geology in the upstream part of the canyon. In the Quaternary, the gorges were also affected by volcanic activity whose traces can be found in the Causse de Sauveterre, in the form of a double or anticlinal volcanic dip, and in the basaltic rocks next to Egl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Causses
The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaus (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river gorges cut through the plateau, such as the Tarn, Dourbie, Jonte, Lot and Aveyron. ''Causse'' is an Occitan word meaning "limestone plateau". 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, building irrigation and road networks that are still used by farmers today. Characteristics of the region are large farm complexes made out of limestone and long, low stone buildings (often mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seine (department)
Seine was the former department of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. It is the only enclaved department of France at that time. 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. '' La Dépêche'', 10 July 2014. General characteristics From 1929 to its abolition in 1968, the department consisted of the City of Paris and 80 surrounding suburban |
