Trail running No. 15 Resistance fighters' circuit

4 points of interest

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  Geology

  The "gems" path

  The marls and limestone benches along this path are very rich in fossils. These sedimentary lands were formed about 200 million years ago.

  Gray marls are lands unsuitable for cultivation but contain treasures of natural heritage: Jurassic marine fossils (belemnites).

  Marls are sedimentary rocks, composed of calcite and clay in roughly equivalent proportions (35% to 65%).

  On this path, we can also find pyrite (comes from Greek: fire-stone), a mineral composed of iron disulfide.

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  History and heritage

  "La Baoumasse" or the Resistants' Cave

  The Resistants’ cave (or Maquisards’ cave) is a natural cavity located on the edge of the plateau. Also called “La Baoumasse” or “Jas méjié” in the 17th century, it was used as summer sheepfold for the herds of La Bastide…

  
  Here, there is a story that is passed on from generation to generation :
  “Once upon a time, a mouse asked a swallow for hospitality. The swallow had built its nest in the cave of La Bastide and was sitting on its eggs.
  The swallow agreed on condition that the mouse hatched in its place for 3 days. The mouse did the job, and then it left.
  These were the little hatches, but they were covered with hairs instead of feathers and they had the head and the body of a mouse, with ears and crooked wings like the devil.
  The swallow died of grief. After her funeral, the queen of the swallows had the orphans locked in the cavity and forbade them to go out in the sunlight on pain of death.
  That's why bats should not be disturbed during the day."

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  Agropastoralism

  The Jacky's "pargue"

  A « pargue » (word of Occitan origin) is a stone enclosure intended to park flocks of sheep.

  The animals were locked during the hottest hours of the day when the ewes are grouped in the shade of the boxwood while ruminating.

  The dung was picked up to manure the cereals and hemp fields, the gardens or sold in the south for the vines.

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  Architecture

  The viaduct of Lapanouse

  On this small circuit, the viaduct of Lapanouse is a great work with its 11 arches and 218m long.
  The railway Tournemire - Le Vigan is in a few numbers :
  - 60 kilometers long, 32 tunnels, 12 viaducts
  - built since 1883 and commissioned in 1896
  - closed in 1935 for travelers and 1955 for goods
  - the removal of the rails in 1960 and the rest in 1979 for the extension project of the Larzac.
  It is used today by the Vélorail and tourist train of Larzac departing from the station of Sainte-Eulalie de Cernon.