The Jordanne Valley
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The Jordanne Valley
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These are Puy Chavaroche, Puy Mary, Puy Peyre Arse, Puys Bataillouse, Griou, and Elancèze. For a long time it was a cul-de-sac, now a road crosses at the Pas de Payrol. The Cirque de Mandailles is covered with beech forest, which for a long time was saved from exploitation due to difficulty of access. Some was used for firewood, some used for making sabots and some for railway sleepers for SNCF. Today the important role of the beech forest in protecting and fixing the soil is recognised. Between St Julien and St Cirgues the Jordanne Valley, here called the Mandailles Valley, is very narrow and deep. The Jordanne roars through this section past the Saut de Menette, Cascade de Méjanet, Porte de la Jordanne and the Gouffre de l’Enfer. In the lower part of the valley where it widens towards Aurillacois, the glaciers and the river have piled up gravel, sand and silt, which can reach a depth of 80m. The flat valley floor provides good agricultural land with easy to mow fields. The Jordanne Valley provides a good example of the terrace landscape of the Cantal. Ash trees appear on the valley floor and beech forests up to 1000m. Hay fields are on the ‘adrets’, the gentle sunny slopes, and pastures above 1400m. The ridges are windswept and bare and surrounded by lava.
Classic Geology in Auvergne by Peter Cattermole ISBN 1-903544-05-x available from Blackwells |
