The Pont d'Arc ( French ''pont'' = bridge) is a large

natural bridge A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion fr ...

, located in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 5 km from the town of

Vallon-Pont-d'Arc Vallon-Pont-d'Arc (; oc, Valon) is a communes of France, commune in the Ardèche Departments of France, department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, Southern France. Vallon-Pont-d'Arc is a capital of prehistoric and cultural tou ...

. The arch, formed when the river

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

, is wide and high at the top of the opening. It is a very popular

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

and

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

area and is heavily visited by tourists. It is usually described as the natural entrance to the Ardèche Canyon. In the near vicinity of the arch is the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, containing one of the earliest known Paleolithic cave paintings, about 30,000 years old (featured in the 3D documentary ''

Cave of Forgotten Dreams ''Cave of Forgotten Dreams'' is a 2010 3D documentary film by Werner Herzog about the Chauvet Cave in Southern France, which contains some of the oldest human-painted images yet discovered. Some of them were crafted around 32,000 years ago. The ...

'' by film director

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

References

See also