Geological trail

9 points of interest

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  Geology

  The little fountain

  Down the street, lies a fountain directly carved in the rock. The stone wall located above the basin closes the entrance of an horizontal tunnel, a water pit, which was dug several metres. This drains the seepage water until the pipe. The excavated rock is a limestone, relatively hard, made up of many fragments of organisms (shells, corals ...). This rock, called molasse, allows the seepage water to flow: it is permeable (spongelike).

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  Geology

  Tropical sea in Cabrières-d'Aigues

  The cliff that dominates the Règue valley is made of limestone. It outcrops westward almost continuously, on nearly 15km until Vaugines, through Cucuron. Geologists have called this geological formation the Molasse de Cucuron. This rock is very rich in sand grains, gravel and fossil remains (scallops, oysters, corals ...). Fossils evidence the presence of a warm sea right here, about 10 million years ago.

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  Geology

  The Durance river

  Many pebbles cover the ground. Some are black, green, red. They share the same composition with some rocks in the Alps. They were transported to Cabrières by powerful streams: the ancestor of the Durance, 10 million years ago!
  Some pebbles have small holes. This is the result from the activity of marine molluscs, the Angelwings (Piddocks), which dig a hole in the rock to live in it. These bivalves live today in coastal areas.

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  Geology

  Heating limestone to make whitewash.

  On the roadside, the bank is hollowed out by a hole with reddened walls at the top and varnished in the lower part. This is a lime kiln which has no doubt been used for local purposes. We don't know how old it is. Several days were needed to dig this type of kiln, build a corbel arch just like the bories, and place the limestone blocks. Cooking it, around 1000 °C, required constant monitoring for about 4 days.

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  Geology

  The Luberon: a mountain with a tender heart

  On the right, a track lets you follow a little escarpment which highlights the rift in the passage and marks the northern border of a line of hills. The limestone that make up these hills is as old as those of the Luberon ridges. In between, the marly rocks are more recent. These information help in the outlining of the geometry of the Luberon: an asymmetrical arch-shaped bend (anticlinal). The heart of the massive, much more gentle, has been hollowed out by erosion and forms a valley.

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  Fauna

  The Patou (Pyrenean Mountain Dog), a faithful keeper!

  In these grazing areas, you can come across a patou between January and April. This big white dog is an impressive keeper. His task is not the easiest: he has to protect his flock against wolves. The patou takes his role very seriously, so no threats or shouts, keep your dogs on a leash and do not dare cross his flock! Go around it and walk quietly, the patou will sniff you and go back quietly to his task.

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  Elevage et pastoralisme

  The Jas de Pécou, a precious sheepfold

  These foothills were heavily grazed and cultivated before the agricultural decline, the pine forest has since taken over. This sheepfold serves today as a shelter for a herd in late winter or spring. In addition to the bush clearing provided by man, this sheepfold maintains this strategic firebreak. It dates back to the 1980s and it was established on the southern slope of the massif on either side of the track and is equipped with a water point.

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  Geology

  Shaping of the landscapes

  Here, many pebbles cover the ground. It is limestone fragments torn from the Luberon due to repeated freezing and thawing during the last cold phase of the quaternary. These deposits, called "gélifracts" are very common in the limestone mountains where they can reach up to 40m of thickness! In this quaternary period, the mountain streams have also shaped the landscape, by either deeply digging their beds or by accumulating sediments, under the influence of climatic variations.

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  Fauna

  Wildlife of the villages

  Even in Cabrières, one can observe nature, so stay tuned! In the Luberon, the villages are home to nesting birds. In summer, you can watch the Common Swifts or the Common House Martin on the roof linings. The black redstart is present throughout the year on the walls of the pretty villages of the Luberon.