Mortrée
Mortrée () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Saint-Hilaire-la-Gérard was merged into Mortrée.
Geography
The commune of Mortrée is made up of the following villages and haml ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. Established in 2009, it spreads over 0.37 hectares and protects an extraction site of
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
limestone, renowned for its microfossils of
conodont
Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...
s. By its size, it is the third smallest regionale nature reserve in France.
Location
The territory of the nature reserve is located in the
Orne
Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department, in the domain of the commune
Saint-Hilaire-la-Gérard
Saint-Hilaire-la-Gérard () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Mortrée.
Points of interest
This former commune contains La carrière des Vaux a Regional Nat ...
, inside the
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park ( Fr.: ''Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine'') is a protected area of forest and bocage located in the French regions of Normandy and Pays de la Loire.
Geography
Spanning the departments of Orne, Manch ...
. It comprise the site of the Carrière des Vaux, a small abandoned Ordovician limestone quarry. The site has an altitude of 245 m.
History of the site and reserve
The site is known since the end of the XIXth century, thanks to the works of Alexandre Bigot, and is known for its heritage value since the 1990s. Extraction ceased at the turn of the XXth century. A regional inventory of the geological patrimony in 2007 allowed to launch the idea of the creation of a nature reserve. Finally, the death of its landlady in 2008 allowed the
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park ( Fr.: ''Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine'') is a protected area of forest and bocage located in the French regions of Normandy and Pays de la Loire.
Geography
Spanning the departments of Orne, Manch ...
to buy the site.
Ecology (biodiversity, ecological interest, etc.)
The interest of the site is mostly geological. It consists of the presence of microfossils of
conodont
Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...
s, which enabled its biostratigraphic datation and conferred to the site its national interest. It is scheduled that other sites rejoin the regional nature reserve in the future.
Geology
The site belongs to the eastern part of the
Armorican Massif
The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...
and is located in the northern flank of the
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 superimposed ...
of Sées. The inclination of the layers present an average dip of 40 degrees towards the south. In the limestone levels of the quarry,
joint
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
s facilitating the cutting of blocks can be observed.
5 species of mammals, 20 species of birds and 34 species of insects are known on the site.
Touristic and educational interest
Parts of the site are opened to the public, who can observe the limestone blocks still bearing
conodont
Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...
microfossils.
Administration, management plan, regulations
The nature reserve is managed by the
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park
Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park ( Fr.: ''Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine'') is a protected area of forest and bocage located in the French regions of Normandy and Pays de la Loire.
Geography
Spanning the departments of Orne, Manch ...
. Its management plan covers the period 2012–2019.
Tools and legal status
The nature reserve was established after deliberation the 18 December 2009.
The site is located near the
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...