The Gorges de Daluis is a six-kilometer-long canyon formed by the river

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It runs south from

Guillaumes Guillaumes (; oc, Guilherme; it, Guglielmi) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860 as ''Guglielmi''. The Valberg ski resort is, in part, located on thi ...

Daluis Daluis ( oc, Daluèis) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Situated on the river Var, it is the end point of the Gorges de Daluis. Population See also *Gorges de Daluis *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes ...

Geography

The canyon starts off at

, running north to south, west of the , and ends at the small commune of

, where the Var widens. The 6-kilometer-long gorge is cut in the red rock (

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

colored by iron oxide, 260 million years old) by the river

. Notable views along the gorge (a touristic high point and one of a number of "long, lonely canyons" in the area) include the final waterfall of the Clue d'Amen.

Geology and history

The area is dominated by the Dôme de Barrot, 2136 meters high, dating from the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

.
Former copper mining operations in the Dôme are still visible from the gorge, and unique mineral specimens have been found there. During the Beuil-Guillaumes insurrection of July–August 1944, the Pont de Berthéou was one of two bridges blown up by the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

in July 1944 (the Pont du Pra d'Astier on 7 July, the Pont de Berthéou the following day) in an attempt to halt German troops advancing toward Guillaumes.

Environment and tourism

South from Guillaumes, the D902/D2202 runs on the west side of the gorge, with the southbound lane going through 17 tunnels. The (now defunct) Alpes-Maritimes railroad line from Pont-de-Gueydan to Guillaumes, inaugurated in 1923, runs east from Guillaumes and crosses the gorge at the Pont de la Mariée, spanning 58 meters. Bungee jumping is done from the 80-meter-high bridge. Other notable sights include the Tête de la Femme, a rock formation resembling a woman's head on the west side of the road, just north of the Pont de Berthéou, and the gorge is a popular destination for

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and canoeing. The road along the gorge lends itself to motorcycle and bicycle tourism.

Gallery

File:Daluis clue amen 02.jpg, Canyoners descend the final waterfall of the Clue d'Amen File:Gardienne.Daluis.jpg, Tête de femme, famous

pareidolia Pareidolia (; ) is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. Common examples are perceived images of animals, ...

also known as La Gardienne des Gorges File:Pont de la Mariée-Gorges de Daluis.JPG, Pont de la Mariée File:Daluis 10.JPG, The commune of Daluis File:DômedeBarrot068.JPG, Dôme de Barrot

References

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Landforms of Alpes-Maritimes Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur