01 Saint-Georges-de-Lévéjac - Gorges du Tarn 2

The Gorges du Tarn ( oc, Gòrjas de Tarn) is a canyon formed by the

Tarn (river) The Tarn (; oc, Tarn, la, Tarnis, possibly meaning 'rapid' or 'walled in') is a long river in the administrative region of Occitania in southern France. It is a right tributary of the Garonne. The Tarn runs in a roughly westerly direction, fr ...

between the Causse Méjean and the Causse de Sauveterre, in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The canyon, mainly located in the

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'', and partially in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants ...

''département'', is about -long (from the village of Quézac to

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 pla ...

, from to ) and 400 m to 600 m deep.

Geography and geology

The architecture of the gorges involves

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

plateaux downstream presenting sub-vertical cliffs. Faults like the Hauterive Fault explain the important water sources in the region of

Sainte-Enimie Sainte-Enimie (; oc, Santa Enimia) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gorges du Tarn Causses. It was founded in the 7th century by Énimie, who started a co ...

(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 A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

activity whose traces can be found in the Causse de Sauveterre, in the form of a double or anticlinal volcanic dip, and in the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic rocks next to Eglazines. The climate is

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, with relatively mild winters and very warm summers.

Tourism

Tourism is a main factor of development in the region, with activities that include: * Hiking * Kayaking *

Caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

in the

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 (région), Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river ...

* Visiting typical villages such as Cirque de Saint-Chély-du-Tarn * Rock climbing * Outdoor sports and leisure activities

Architecture

Many castles have been built along the Gorges, most of them dating back to the Middle Ages, such as those of

Castelbouc Sainte-Enimie (; oc, Santa Enimia) is a former commune in the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gorges du Tarn Causses. It was founded in the 7th century by Énimie, who started a co ...

, Lacaze, Hauterives, La Malène or Saint-Rome-de-Dolan.

References

External links

Office de Tourisme des Cévennes - Gorges du Tarn

on About-France.com Landforms of Aveyron Landforms of Lozère Tarn Tourist attractions in Lozère Tourist attractions in Aveyron {{france-geo-stub