210px, Here the magnificence of the valley is shown. The river's meandering erosion is clear. The Cirque de Navacelles is large

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

al landform, an incised meander, located towards the southern edge of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

mountain range in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. It is located near Saint-Maurice-Navacelles and Blandas between the

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.department and the Gard department. The

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landf ...

is isolated, with only a few small villages in the surrounding area. However, with the completion of the Millau Viaduct in 2004 and the A75 motorway between

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attra ...

and

Pézenas Pézenas (; Languedocien: ''Pesenàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Name The name "Pézenas" is derived from the older name ''Piscenae'', probably from the Latin word ''piscenis'', meaning ...

, tourism in the region has increased.

Fluvial processes in the cirque

The area is an example of a

dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, m ...

in which the

Vis River The Vis is a river in south-central France, in the Occitanie administrative region. It is a right tributary of the Hérault. Its source is in the Cévennes, near the village of Alzon. It flows between the Causse du Larzac and the Causse ...

eroded a deep channel through the base of the valley, creating an incised meander which eventually eroded through creating a cut-off at the neck of the loop.Official website: landscapes
/ref> This left an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are cal ...

which later dried up, leaving deposits of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel wh ...

and

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. This created what is the only patch of arable land for many miles around. Cirque de Navacelles

Notes

External links

Interactive map

{{Coord, 43, 53, 34, N, 3, 30, 36, E, display=title, source:frwiki

Navacelles Navacelles (; oc, Navacèlas) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gard department This is a list of the 351 communes of the Gard department of France. The communes cooperate in ...

Landforms of Hérault Landforms of Gard