The Gorges du Tarn () is a

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

formed by the

Tarn (river) The Tarn (; , , possibly meaning 'rapid' or 'walled in') is a long river in the administrative region of Occitania in southern France. It is a right tributary of the Garonne. The Tarn runs in a roughly westerly direction, from its source at a ...

between the

Causse Méjean Causse Méjean is a limestone plateau in the Lozère department, in southern France. It is a part of Causses and Cévennes, The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site. Communes Causse ...

and the

Causse de Sauveterre The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaux (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river gorges cut through ...

, in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The canyon, mainly located in the

Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'', and partially in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

''département'', is about -long (from the village of Quézac to

Le Rozier Le Rozier (; ) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Geography The river Jonte joins the Tarn in Le Rozier. See also *Communes of the Lozère department *Causse Méjean Causse Méjean is a limestone plateau in the L ...

, from to ) and 400 m to 600 m deep.

Geography and geology

The gorges landscape involves

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

plateaux In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Oft ...

downstream presenting sub-vertical cliffs. Faults like the Hauterive Fault explain the important water sources in the region of

Sainte-Enimie Sainte-Enimie (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Lozère Departments of France, department in southern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gorges du Tarn Causses. It was founded in the 7th century by � ...

(the ''Burle'' source and the ''Coussac'' source, the latter joining the Tarn in an impressive waterfall), and the more complex geology in the upstream part of the canyon. In the

Quaternary 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), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

, the gorges were also affected by

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

activity whose traces can be found in the Causse de Sauveterre, in the form of a double or

anticlinal Anticlinal may refer to: *Anticline, in structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core *Anticlinal, in stereochemistry, a torsion angle between 90° to 150°, and –90° to –150°; see Alkane_st ...

volcanic dip, and in the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic rocks next to Eglazines. The climate is

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, with relatively mild winters and very warm summers. Castelbouc gorges du Tarn

Tourism

Tourism is a main factor of development in the region, with activities that include: * Hiking * Kayaking *

Caving Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...

in the

Causses The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaux (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin (région), Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river ...

* Visiting typical villages such as Cirque de Saint-Chély-du-Tarn * Rock climbing * Outdoor sports and leisure activities

Architecture

Many castles have been built along the Gorges, most of them dating back to the Middle Ages, such as those of Castelbouc, Lacaze,

Hauterives Hauterives () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is home to Ferdinand Cheval's self-made Palais idéal. Geography The Galaure flows southwest through the middle of the commune. Population See also *Communes o ...

La Malène La Malène (; ) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. See also *Communes of the Lozère department *Causse Méjean *Gorges du Tarn The Gorges du Tarn () is a canyon formed by the Tarn (river) between the Causse Méjean an ...

or Saint-Rome-de-Dolan.

References

External links

Office de Tourisme des Cévennes - Gorges du Tarn

on About-France.com Landforms of Aveyron Landforms of Lozère Tarn Tourist attractions in Lozère Tourist attractions in Aveyron {{france-geo-stub