The Roc de Chère National Nature Reserve is a major
ecologic site in southeastern
France. A protected
nature reserve since 1977, it covers a small area of . It is located near the commune of
Talloires, on the eastern bank of
Lake Annecy at an elevation of . The Roc de Chère is a small mountain, culminating at a modest , which was formed by a
quaternary glacier
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 ...
from the south.
Etymology
The word ''Chère'' comes from the pre-
Indo-European root *car-, which was used to designate a stony material, a rock. This significance is not entirely understood, hence ''Chère'' became a
proper noun and "Roc" (modern
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for ''rock'') was added and is not considered a
pleonastic reinforcement.
Geography, morphology and history
The reserve is located between the communes of
Talloires and
Menthon-Saint-Bernard. There are numerous
trails along the rock that offer superb
panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
s overlooking Lake Annecy. The rock plunges down towards Annecy via impressive cliffs tall. From atop one can see the ''lapiaz'',
calcareous rocks eroded by water that are also found in
Savoie.
Formerly
logged for
timber by the
monks from the
Abbey of Talloires, the reserve nowadays is mostly covered by
Sessile oak
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...
and
hornbeams. A nature reserve was created in 1978 due to the exceptional
biodiversity of the site. 35% of the surface area in 2004 belonged to the
Conservatoire du littoral et des rivages lacustres
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
, an academy which deals with
littoral zones and lake shores. There is a
golf course on its northern slopes.
As a result of differing calcareous and
siliceous soils (
sandstone), there are separate
microclimates from one valley to another, supporting more than 560 plant species. Among them they include:
* Plants that are relics of the
glacier era
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
(
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[Carex limosa
''Carex limosa'' is a species of sedge known as bog-sedge, mud sedge, and shore sedge.
Distribution
This sedge is an aquatic or shore plant which can most often be found in peat bogs in mountains. It is widely distributed across North America ...]
'', etc.)
* Plants that are typical of the
subalpine elevation (''
Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
'', ''
Lycopode sélagine'', etc.)
* Plants belong to submediterranean communities (such as ''
Acer monspessulanum'', ''
Rubia tinctorum
''Rubia tinctorum'', the rose madder or common madder or dyer's madder, is a herbaceous perennial plant species belonging to the Galium, bedstraw and Coffea, coffee family Rubiaceae.
Description
The common madder can grow up to 1.5 m in height ...
'')
Glaciers have left a
peat bog where one can find ''
Drosera'', mud sedge (''
Carex limosa
''Carex limosa'' is a species of sedge known as bog-sedge, mud sedge, and shore sedge.
Distribution
This sedge is an aquatic or shore plant which can most often be found in peat bogs in mountains. It is widely distributed across North America ...
''), and the
northern emerald
The northern emerald (''Somatochlora arctica'') is a middle-sized species of dragonfly first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1840. The male can be recognised by its pincer-like appendages and its narrow-waisted body. The female has ...
(''Somatochlora arctica''), an insect in the order of
Odonata. In a
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
hidden under the forest, one can find plants that are able to grow up to elevations of (''
Rhododendron ferrugineum
''Rhododendron ferrugineum'', the alpenrose, snow-rose, or rusty-leaved alpenrose is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura and northern Apennines, on acid soils. It is the type species for the genus ' ...
'', ''
Lycopode sélagine''). On the other hand, on the lakeside cliffs in the hot and dry microclimate southern species (such as ''Acer monspessulanum'') have
acclimatized and established.
A large
wildlife population has also found refuge in the reserve. Among the
birds one can find the
Eurasian crag martin
The Eurasian crag martin or just crag martin (''Ptyonoprogne rupestris'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is about long with ash-brown upperparts and paler underparts, and a short, square tail that has distinctive white pat ...
and
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
that nest in the cliffs, as well as the
black kite and
yellow-legged gulls.
On Sunday 21 June 2009 at 2:30 in the morning, three young men were killed and two seriously injured after their
motor boat ran into a Roc de Chère cliff at full speed after returning from a nightclub in Annecy.
Touristic interest
The tomb of the french philosopher and historian
Hippolyte Taine is in the reserve.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roc de Chere National Nature Reserve
Nature reserves in France
Geography of Haute-Savoie
Protected areas established in 1977
Tourist attractions in Haute-Savoie