Mourèze and its dolomite cirque
Calcareous rock is omnipresent in our environment!
The Cirque of Mourèze here in the Clermontais is a particularly incredible place. Quite simply in geological terms its limestone is made up a sedimentary rock more or less loaded with calcium carbonate. It can be conchiferous (sandy) or lithographic (layered). In the Cirque of Mourèze, its calcareous component is replaced by dolomite (magnesium), which makes it more fragile in bad weather. Thus it erodes and creates landscapes that resemble ruins.
Now the walk can start and the discovery of all these things can begin to stimulate the imagination of each of us!
more than 70 rock statues listed.
It’s up to you to discover or invent monsters and animals here and there or even towers or castles further away … Take off on an adventure to look for secret pathways and labyrinths … hush!
Don’t forget that you are walking on a kind of powdery sand that is also called “grésou” or “a dolomic arena”. It’s simply the result of terminal erosion of the calcareous dolomite which on such unusual ground has created dry and untypical vegetation.
With a little luck, you might come across the delicate “arméria de Girard” flower. But here we are in the universe of the rosemary, the immortelle and multi-flora heather which flowers in the autumn!
Another way to observe this unusual calcareous rock is to take the little road between Mourèze and Salasc. Go through the ruin-shaped landscape seemingly less eroded than the Cirque’s, but which has many surprises all the same!
Keep your eyes open wide!
For more history about Mourèze and its cirque consult the heritage booklet to discover more.