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The ancient massif was composed
of granite and metamorphic rocks, these are ancient rocks modified deep
underground. This group forms the base of the massif and is mainly granite,
gneiss, schists or similar.
The western plateaux of Limousin,
Creuse, Haute-Corrèze and Combrailles.
South and West Cantal; Artense;
Châtaigneraie.
The axis between the Allier and
the Loire; Forez; Livradois; Bois Noirs and Bourbonnais.
The slopes that dominate the
Rhone valley; Mâconnais; Beaujolais; Lyonnais; Vivarais and the Cévennes.
The Central regions of Margeride,
Aubrac; Lozère and Aveyron.
The extreme south that dominates
Languedoc, Sidobre; Montagne Noire.
The highest regions are
dominated by ancient volcanoes with immense lava plateaux, ridges similar to the
Alps, complex volcanoes or craters and amazingly preserved craters.
Western Auvergne; Chaîne des Puy;
Mont Dore; Cézalier; Cantal.
Volcanic Aubrac.
Volcanic Velay; Devès; Emblavès;
Meygal and Mézenc; Haute Ardèche.
The plateaux and causses are
composed mainly of sedimentary calcite rock, deposited under the sea.
The Plains, Limagne for
example, and basins, as Aurillac, are composed of glacial moraine of clay, sand
and gravel.
The direct consequence of the
diversity of the rocks is:
The relief of the landscape, and
therefore the climate, differs greatly providing many contrasts.
The variety of soils, some thin, poor and
acid on the granite, thicker and rich on the calcite and volcanic rock.
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