Vallon des Glauges

7 points of interest

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  Patrimony and history

  Chabaud Arenas

  The Chabaud arenas are located on the site of an old mill built in 1787. The main building of this mill still exists inside the bullring. The aqueduct, which is distinguished outside the arena, was intended to supply the mill with water. Around 1898, no longer reporting sufficient income to the town, the mill is sold to an individual. Auguste Chabaud, last owner of the mill, transforms the infrastructures into arenas, inaugurated on August 8th, 1926.

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  Water and rivers

  Valley des Baux canal

  This canal, measuring 53 km long, has been the subject of a long process of reflection and design. Started in 1792, the canal will be put in water a century later, in 1914. To develop human presence and economic activity in the Alpilles, it was important that a hydraulic network irrigate the territory and allow agriculture to develop. This canal alone feeds the southern part of the massif.

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  Produits du terroir

  The olive tree

  Emblematic culture of the territory of the Alpilles, the olive tree is the symbol of the dry Mediterranean climate. Its multiple trunks are the result of a release at the strain level following a significant frost in 1956. Today, some of the olives and oils produced in the Alpilles are recognized nationally and internationally, benefiting from the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

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  Patrimony and history

  Opies view

  This relief is characterized by a set of ridges where is the highest point of the territory of the Park: the Opies, at 498 m altitude. From the tower that symbolizes the summit, it is possible to see up to the alpine massifs. This tower was a watchtower, built at the dawn of the twentieth century, to prevent the fire in the massif. It is now used to house the Mistral adventurers who have reached the summit.

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  Produits du terroir

  Gauges Valley Estate

  The Glauges valley estate has a total surface area of ??72 hectares, 45 of which are dedicated to wine production and 4 to olive oil. Their distribution, between valleys, slopes and plateaus, allows to have wines with diversified character. The estate also strives to have a reasoned culture, combining the needs of the vines and the protection of the ecosystem, as evidenced by the 23 hectares of woods and garrigue preserved.

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  Panorama

  View on the Crau lowland

  The Crau lowland forms a triangle with an estimated surface area of 550 km2. It is an arid pastoral lawn, forming a specific vegetation, named "coussoul". The south is called "Dry Crau", a remarkable steppe habitat. Today there are 95 km2;of intact steppe. The northern part of Crau, irrigated from the 16th century. through the Craponne canal and put into cultivation, forms the "Crau humide", where the Crau hay is produced, the first forage to obtain an AOC.

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  Geology

  Eyguières Coussoul

  The coussoul is a steppic pastoral lawn. Its rough vegetation grows on a very fine soil, which covers the pebbles coming from the old bed of the Durance. At less than one meter deep, there is a layer of pebbles cemented by a crust of mineral salts. Called "poudingue", it directly impacts the growth of trees. In Eyguières, there is little coussoul because the lawn has been replaced by crops, but we observe very well pebbles conducive to its development.