natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate.
From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...
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 ...
, which corresponds roughly to the Southeast of the current
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
Canton of Terrasson-Lavilledieu The canton of Terrasson-Lavilledieu is an administrative division of the Dordogne department, southwestern France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Terrasson-Lavilled ...
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 ...
Laurence
Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...
Manaurie
Manaurie (; oc, Manà uria) is a former commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Les Eyzies.Coly and Beune from the left.
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
,
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
,
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
and
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
. The river valleys are infilled by alluvial sediments of
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
age.
The Jurassic sediments belong to the inner platform facies and consist of limestones,
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
s and
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
s. The limestones feature micrites, sparites, oolites and also limestones rich in
siliciclastic
Siliciclastic (or ''siliclastic'') rocks are clastic noncarbonate sedimentary rocks that are composed primarily of silicate minerals, such as quartz or clay minerals. Siliciclasic rock types include mudrock, sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic ...
s that were deposited near the shoreface. The marls were formed near the continent and are occasionally rather rich in
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
Terrasson-Lavilledieu
Terrasson-Lavilledieu (; oc, Terrasson e La Vila Dieu) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The commune was created in 1963 by the merger of the former communes Terrasson and Lavilledieu. Terrass ...
, where they are separated from the Upper Cretaceous by the southeast-striking Cassagne Fault. They are also found within the Saint-Cyprien Anticline — a southeast-striking tectonic upwarp near
syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...
. They mainly consist of limestones and are often
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
ified. Stratigraphically they range from
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
block of the Massif Central — the horst of Châtres — right through the Jurassic sediments.
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s and
abri
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
s like
Lascaux
Lascaux ( , ; french: Grotte de Lascaux , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of ...
,
Rouffignac
Rouffignac () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Charente-Maritime department
The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of Fr ...
or Cro Magnon — all situated relatively close to
Le Moustier
Le Moustier is an archeological site consisting of two rock shelters in Peyzac-le-Moustier, a village in the Dordogne, France. It is known for a complete skeleton of the species ''Homo neanderthalensis'' that was discovered in 1908. The Mousteri ...
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
Beynac
Beynac (; oc, Beinac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central-western France.
Inhabitants are known as ''Beynacois'' in French.
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Vienne department
The following i ...
La Roque-Gageac
La Roque-Gageac (; oc, La Ròca de Gajac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Perched above the river Dordogne, the village is a member of the ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("The most beau ...
Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...
Peyzac-le-Moustier
Peyzac-le-Moustier () is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is known for the nearby archeological site of Le Moustier, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Population
See also
*Roque Saint-C ...
Castelnaudlachapelle.jpg, Château de Castelnaud
Besse - Eglise Saint-Martin-2.JPG, Church Saint-Martin in Besse
Abbaye de Cadouin 2007-08-03.jpg, Cadouin Abbey