Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin
Encyclopedia
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
and Haute Vienne départements. The park has a surface area of 1800 square kilometers and is inhabitated by 49 661 people.
Geography
The park comprises 5 cantonsCantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
in the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
:
- Bussière-Badil
- Jumilhac-le-Grand
- Mareuil
- NontronCanton of NontronThe Canton of Nontron is a canton of the Dordogne département, in France.The lowest point is 115 m in the commune of Javerlhac-et-la-Chapelle-Saint-Robert, the highest point is in Abjat-sur-Bandiat at 355 m, the average elevation is 197 m...
- Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière
and 5 cantons in the Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...
:
- Châlus
- Oradour-sur-Vayres
- Rochechouart
- Saint-Laurent-sur-Gorre
- Saint-Mathieu
Associated with the 78 founding communes are six other communes, that serve as access points to the park:
- Aixe-sur-VienneAixe-sur-VienneAixe-sur-Vienne is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-External links:*...
- BrantômeBrantôme, DordogneBrantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
- NexonNexon, Haute-VienneNexon is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Nexonnais.-References:*...
- Saint-JunienSaint-JunienSaint-Junien, , is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France. Its sister city is Charleroi, Belgium.-History:...
- Saint-Yrieix-la-PercheSaint-Yrieix-la-PercheSaint-Yrieix-la-Perche is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Its name refers to Saint Yrieix .Inhabitants are known as Arédiens.-References:*...
- ThiviersThiviersThiviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Personalities:It is notable as being the town in which Jean-Paul Sartre lived as a child. Painter Pierre Bouillon was born there.-References:*...
The two artificial lakes Lac de Lavaud and Lac de Mas Chaban belong to the Charente
Charente
Charente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...
département, but they are also associated with the park.
The park administration is housed in an ancient smithy in the hamlet of La Barde (commune of La Coquille
La Coquille
La Coquille is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.La Coquille is located in the Périgord in a heavily wooded area with meadows surrounding the peaceful little village...
), whereas the visitor center is established in Pageas
Pageas
Pageas is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Pageaciens.-References:*...
.
Landscapes
Elevations in the park start at 85 meters along the Nizonne river near La Rochebeaucourt-et-ArgentineLa Rochebeaucourt-et-Argentine
La Rochebeaucourt-et-Argentine is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
and reach 556 meters near Courbefy southeast of Bussière-Galant. Due to these differences in elevation the park possesses several different natural habitats like moors
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
near Champagnac-la-Rivière
Champagnac-la-Rivière
Champagnac-la-Rivière is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-References:*...
, bocage
Bocage
Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...
, meadows near water courses and forests consisting of chestnut and oak. South of Mareuil
Mareuil, Dordogne
Mareuil is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:...
one encounters heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
and dry grassland. There are also lots of little pools and lakes. Many brooks and smaller rivers like for example the Arthonnet, the Bandiat
Bandiat
The Bandiat is a small river that is 91 km long, a left tributary of the Tardoire. It flows through the Haute-Vienne, Dordogne and Charente departments in France.-Geography:...
, the Charente
Charente
Charente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...
, the Côle
Côle
The Côle is a long river in the Dordogne département, south-central France. Its source is near le Châtenet, a hamlet in Firbeix. It flows generally southwest...
, the Dronne
Dronne
The Dronne is a 201 km long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle River. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus at an elevation of 510 m...
, the Gorre
Gorre
Gorre is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Gorrois.-References:*...
, the Grêne, the Nizonne and the Tardoire
Tardoire
The Tardoire is a river in southwestern France, left tributary to the river Bonnieure. Its source is in Châlus, in the Haute-Vienne département. It flows into the Bonnieure near Saint-Ciers-sur-Bonnieure...
drain the parkland. Of all these water courses the Isle is the only river that has its source outside the park's perimeter.
The water courses belong to one of the three drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s:
- the DordogneDordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
in the south of the park - the VienneVienneVienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...
in the north and - the CharenteCharenteCharente is a department in southwestern France, in the Poitou-Charentes region, named after the Charente River, the most important river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns, Angoulême and Cognac, are sited.-History:Charente is one of the original...
in the northwest.
Climate
The climate in the park is temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
, but can show quite pronounced local variations. In the northeast the climate is generally continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
, whereas in the southwest it is maritime
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
. Certain protected south-facing slopes can even possess a submediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
.
The following climatic diagram shows data averaged over the last five years (2004–2008) from a private weather station (354 meters above sea level) near Milhaguet in the Haute Vienne.
Temperature distribution in °C:
The average temperature over the last five years was 11.1 °C, the yearly precipitation was 1053.6 millimeters. The last years have been exceptionally wet.
Geology
Terrane
A terrane in geology is short-hand term for a tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate...
s: the major part northeast of a line Varaignes
Varaignes
Varaignes is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-International relations:Varaignes is twinned with Makrinitsa, Greece.-References:*...
- Nontron
Nontron
Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:According to the historian Ribault de Laugardière, the name Nontron derives from the Tyrian language, from Nata and Dun...
- Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière
Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière
Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière , in occitan Sent Pardol la Ribiera, is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It forms part of the Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin.- Etymology :...
- Thiviers
Thiviers
Thiviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Personalities:It is notable as being the town in which Jean-Paul Sartre lived as a child. Painter Pierre Bouillon was born there.-References:*...
consists of Variscan basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
rocks of the northwestern Massif Central
Massif Central
The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
. The much smaller southwestern part is made up of Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
and Cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...
sedimentary rocks belonging to the Aquitanian Basin. The boundary between the two terrains is outlined by important faults in most places. The downthrown sedimentary block has in general much lower elevations. The basement block has been uplifted fairly recently as shown by the rejuvenation of streams.
The basement rocks are mainly gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
es, mica schists and granitoids
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
with occasional outcrops of amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
s and serpentinites. The sedimentary succession of the Aquitanian Basin starts with a transgression
Transgression (geology)
A marine transgression is a geologic event during which sea level rises relative to the land and the shoreline moves toward higher ground, resulting in flooding. Transgressions can be caused either by the land sinking or the ocean basins filling with water...
in the Lower Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(Lias
Lias Group
The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the low countries and the north of Germany...
) over the basement rocks (usually a conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
at the base, followed by arkose
Arkose
Arkose is a detrital sedimentary rock, specifically a type of sandstone containing at least 25% feldspar. Arkosic sand is sand that is similarly rich in feldspar, and thus the potential precursor of arkose....
s, dolostone
Dolostone
Dolostone or dolomite rock is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite. In old U.S.G.S. publications it was referred to as magnesian limestone. Most dolostone formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud prior to lithification. It is...
s and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s). During the Dogger
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
a calcareous reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
built from ooids developed. During the Malm
Malm
is a former municipality, a village, and the administrative centre of the municipality of Verran in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. Malm is located along the Trondheimsfjord, about a drive west from the town of Steinkjer. The village of Malm has a population of 1,572. The population density of...
dense, micritic limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
s were deposited. Afterwards the sea retreated to come back again at the onset of the Cenomanian
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous series. An age is a unit of geochronology: it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding...
(Upper Cretaceous). A very warm epicontinental sea chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
y sediments were laid down right up to the Maastrichtian
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
. At the end of the Cretaceous the sea finally retreated and the sediments of the Aquitanian Basin started to become continental within the area of the park.
During the Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and the Pyrenean
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
orogeny
Orogeny
Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...
(Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
and Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
) the basement of the Massif Central was uplifted and rejuvenated. As a consequence massive alluvial deposits (mainly conglomerates and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s) were built out as long tongues onto the lowlands, some reaching almost 50 kilometers in length. Due to the various ice ages, erosion has again increased since the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
− a good example for this being the Dronne
Dronne
The Dronne is a 201 km long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle River. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus at an elevation of 510 m...
. Since the start of the Pleistocene the river has lowered its bed downstream of Brantôme
Brantôme, Dordogne
Brantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
by almost 100 meters.
A geological specialty of the park is the Rochechouart crater
Rochechouart crater
Rochechouart is an impact crater in France.The crater diameter is still under study but is expected to be about . Its most recent age estimate is 201 ±2 million years ago, placing it close to Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Since then the crater has been deeply eroded, and no trace of its original...
, the remnants of a meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
impact at the end of the Upper Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
(roughly 200 million years ago). The impact created a crater with a diameter of 21 kilometers and destroyed every form of life within a radius of several hundred kilometers. There is no trace of the original crater left, the only indicators for its existence are ejecta blankets (breccias) and suevite
Suevite
Suevite is a rock consisting partly of melted material, typically forming a breccia containing glass and crystal or lithic fragments, formed during an impact event...
s), shatter cone
Shatter cone
Shatter cones are rare geological features that are only known to form in the bedrock beneath meteorite impact craters or underground nuclear explosions...
s and thrust fault
Thrust fault
A thrust fault is a type of fault, or break in the Earth's crust across which there has been relative movement, in which rocks of lower stratigraphic position are pushed up and over higher strata. They are often recognized because they place older rocks above younger...
s.
Minerals in the park
Besides the common minerals quartzQuartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, alkali feldspar
Alkali feldspar
The alkali feldspar group are those feldspar minerals rich in the alkali elements like potassium. The alkali feldspars include: anorthoclase, microcline, orthoclase and sanidine....
, plagioclase
Plagioclase
Plagioclase is an important series of tectosilicate minerals within the feldspar family. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a solid solution series, more properly known as the plagioclase feldspar series...
, biotite
Biotite
Biotite is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . More generally, it refers to the dark mica series, primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous endmembers...
, muscovite
Muscovite
Muscovite is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl22, or 236. It has a highly-perfect basal cleavage yielding remarkably-thin laminæ which are often highly elastic...
as well as calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
and gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
rarer minerals occur, for example actinolite
Actinolite
Actinolite is an amphibole silicate mineral with the chemical formula .-Etymology:The name actinolite is derived from the Greek word aktis , meaning "beam" or "ray", because of the mineral's fibrous nature...
, allanite
Allanite
Allanite is a sorosilicate group of minerals within the broader epidote group that contain a significant amount of rare earth elements. The mineral occurs mainly in metamorphosed clay rich sediments and felsic igneous rocks...
, andalusite
Andalusite
Andalusite is an aluminium nesosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5.The variety chiastolite commonly contains dark inclusions of carbon or clay which form a checker-board pattern when shown in cross-section....
, antigorite, apatite
Apatite
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, chlorapatite and bromapatite, named for high concentrations of OH−, F−, Cl− or Br− ions, respectively, in the crystal...
, arsenopyrite
Arsenopyrite
Arsenopyrite is an iron arsenic sulfide . It is a hard metallic, opaque, steel grey to silver white mineral with a relatively high specific gravity of 6.1. When dissolved in nitric acid, it releases elemental sulfur. When arsenopyrite is heated, it becomes magnetic and gives off toxic fumes...
, baryte, cassiterite
Cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...
, chalcedony
Chalcedony
Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic...
, chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green tinged black.On exposure to air, chalcopyrite...
, chlorite
Chlorite
The chlorite ion is ClO2−. A chlorite is a compound that contains this group,with chlorine in oxidation state +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous acid.-Oxidation states:...
, chromite
Chromite
Chromite is an iron chromium oxide: FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. Magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite ; substitution of aluminium occurs leading to hercynite .-Occurrence:Chromite is found in...
, clinopyroxene, chrysotile
Chrysotile
Chrysotile or white asbestos is the most commonly encountered form of asbestos, accounting for approximately 95% of the asbestos in place in the United States and a similar proportion in other countries. It is a soft, fibrous silicate mineral in the serpentine group of phyllosilicates; as such, it...
, cordierite
Cordierite
Cordierite or iolite is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: 2 to 2...
, cyanite, epidote
Epidote
Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron sorosilicate mineral, Ca2Al2O, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Well-developed crystals are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in habit, the direction of elongation being perpendicular to the single plane of symmetry. The faces are often...
, galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
, garnet
Garnet
The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" may come from either the Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', or the Latin granatus , possibly a reference to the Punica granatum , a plant with red seeds...
, goethite
Goethite
Goethite , named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since prehistoric times for its use as a pigment. Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples...
, graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
, hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
, hornblende
Hornblende
Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals .It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole....
, ilmenite
Ilmenite
Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray. It is a crystalline iron titanium oxide . It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it has the same crystal structure as corundum and hematite....
, kaolinite
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
, limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
, magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
, manganite
Manganite
Manganite is a mineral. Its composition is manganese oxide-hydroxide, MnO, crystallizing in the monoclinic system . Crystals of manganite are prismatic and deeply striated parallel to their length; they are often grouped together in bundles. The color is dark steel-grey to iron-black, and the...
, marcasite
Marcasite
The mineral marcasite, sometimes called white iron pyrite, is iron sulfide with orthorhombic crystal structure. It is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, which is iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure. Both structures do have in common that they contain the disulfide...
, montmorillonite
Montmorillonite
Montmorillonite is a very soft phyllosilicate group of minerals that typically form in microscopic crystals, forming a clay. It is named after Montmorillon in France. Montmorillonite, a member of the smectite family, is a 2:1 clay, meaning that it has 2 tetrahedral sheets sandwiching a central...
, prehnite
Prehnite
Prehnite is a phyllosilicate of calcium and aluminium with the formula: Ca2Al2. Limited Fe3+ substitutes for aluminium in the structure. Prehnite crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, and most oftens forms as stalactitic or botryoidal aggregates, with only just the crests of small...
, psilomelane
Psilomelane
Psilomelane, also known as black hematite, is a group name for hard black manganese oxides such as hollandite and romanechite. Psilomelane consists of hydrous manganese oxide with variable amounts of barium and potassium.-Formula:...
, pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
, pyrolusite
Pyrolusite
Pyrolusite is a mineral consisting essentially of manganese dioxide and is important as an ore of manganese. It is a black, amorphous appearing mineral, often with a granular, fibrous or columnar structure, sometimes forming reniform crusts. It has a metallic luster, a black or bluish-black...
, pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite is an unusual iron sulfide mineral with a variable iron content: FeS . The FeS endmember is known as troilite. Pyrrhotite is also called magnetic pyrite because the color is similar to pyrite and it is weakly magnetic...
, rutile
Rutile
Rutile is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2.Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known:...
, sillimanite
Sillimanite
Sillimanite is an alumino-silicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. Sillimanite is named after the American chemist Benjamin Silliman . It was first described in 1824 for an occurrence in Chester, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA....
, sphalerite
Sphalerite
Sphalerite is a mineral that is the chief ore of zinc. It consists largely of zinc sulfide in crystalline form but almost always contains variable iron. When iron content is high it is an opaque black variety, marmatite. It is usually found in association with galena, pyrite, and other sulfides...
, sphene, staurolite
Staurolite
Staurolite is a red brown to black, mostly opaque, nesosilicate mineral with a white streak.-Properties:It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5 and a rather complex chemical formula: 2Al94O204...
, tourmaline
Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a crystal boron silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gem comes in a wide variety of colors...
and zircon
Zircon
Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
. Some very rare minerals do exist as well, like anglesite
Anglesite
Anglesite is a lead sulfate mineral with the chemical formula PbSO4. It occurs as an oxidation product of primary lead sulfide ore, galena. Anglesite occurs as prismatic orthorhombic crystals and earthy masses, and is isomorphous with barite and celestine. It contains 74% of lead by mass and...
, autunite
Autunite
Autunite with formula: Ca22·10-12H2O is a yellow - greenish fluorescent mineral with a hardness of 2 - 2½. Autunite crystallizes in the tetragonal system and often occurs as tabular square crystals. Due to the moderate uranium content of 48.27% it is radioactive and also used as uranium ore...
, beryll, cerussite
Cerussite
Cerussite is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate , and an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin cerussa, white lead. Cerussa nativa was mentioned by Conrad Gessner in 1565, and in 1832 F. S. Beudant applied the name cruse to the mineral, whilst the present form, cerussite, is due to...
, covellite
Covellite
Covellite is a rare copper sulfide mineral with the formula CuS. This indigo blue mineral is ubiquitous in copper ores, it is found in limited abundance and is not an important ore of copper itself, although it is well known to mineral collectors.The mineral is associated with chalcocite in zones...
, crocoite
Crocoite
Crocoite is a mineral consisting of lead chromate, PbCrO4, and crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system. It is sometimes used as a paint, being identical in composition with the artificial product chrome yellow. It was discovered at Berezovsky deposit near Ekaterinburg in the Urals in 1766;...
, greenockite
Greenockite
Greenockite is a rare cadmium mineral that consists of cadmium sulfide, CdS, in crystalline form. Greenockite crystallizes in the hexagonal system. It occurs as massive encrustations and as six-sided pyramidal crystals which vary in color from a honey yellow through shades of red to brown...
, nontronite
Nontronite
Nontronite is the iron rich member of the smectite group of clay minerals. Nontronites typically have a chemical composition consisting of more than ~30% Fe2O3 and less than ~12% Al2O3 . Nontronite generally does not exist in economic deposits like montmorillonite, although it is not an uncommon...
, pyromorphite
Pyromorphite
Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate: Pb53Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead. Crystals are common, and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the basal planes, sometimes combined with narrow faces of a hexagonal...
, scheelite
Scheelite
Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral with the chemical formula CaWO4. It is an important ore of tungsten. Well-formed crystals are sought by collectors and are occasionally fashioned into gemstones when suitably free of flaws...
, native silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, stibnite
Stibnite
Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb2S3. This soft grey material crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group. It is the most important source for the metalloid antimony...
and wulfenite
Wulfenite
Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula PbMoO4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form it is sometimes called "yellow lead ore".It crystallizes...
, and also extremely rare minerals like chalcolite, dundasite
Dundasite
Dundasite is a rare lead aluminium carbonate mineral. The mineral is named after the type locality, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia. The mineral was first discovered in the Adelaide Proprietary Mine. Dundasite was first described by William Frederick Petterd in 1893.Dundasite is an uncommon secondary...
, embreyite, hisingerite
Hisingerite
Hisingerite is an iron phyllosilicate mineral with formula . A black or dark brown, lustrous secondary mineral, it is formed by the weathering or hydrothermal alteration of other iron silicate and sulfide minerals....
, leadhillite
Leadhillite
Leadhillite is a lead sulfate carbonate hydroxide mineral, often associated with anglesite. It has the formula Pb4SO422.Leadhillite crystallizes in the monoclinic system, but forms pseudo-hexagonal forms due to crystal twinning. It forms transparent to translucent variably colored adamantine crystals...
, mimetite
Mimetite
Mimetite, whose name derives from the Greek Μιμητής mimethes, meaning "imitator", is an arsenate mineral which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by the oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name is a reference to mimetite's resemblance to the mineral pyromorphite...
, ozokerite
Ozokerite
Ozokerite or ozocerite is a naturally occurring odoriferous mineral wax or paraffin found in many localities.-Sources:...
(pseudo-mineral) and vauquelinite
Vauquelinite
Vauquelinite is a complex mineral with the formula CuPb2CrO4PO4OH making it a combined chromate and phosphate of copper and lead. Discovered in 1818 in the Beryozovskoye deposit, Urals, Russia, it is named after Louis Vauquelin , a French chemist....
.
Resources
In the Piégut-Pluviers GranodioritePiégut-Pluviers Granodiorite
The Piégut-Pluviers Granodiorite is situated at the northwestern edge of the Variscan Massif Central in France. Its cooling age has been determined as 325 ± 14 million years BP .- Geographical situation :...
existed a quarry near Lacaujamet (commune of Saint-Estèphe
Saint-Estèphe
Saint-Estèphe is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Wine:Saint-Estèphe is best known as the northernmost, and one of the four major wine-growing appellations of the Médoc...
, not far from Piégut-Pluviers
Piégut-Pluviers
Piégut-Pluviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.The commune is located from Angoulême, from Périgueux and Limoges and from Bordeaux.-Population:-History:...
) that once extracted granodiorite lintels for doors and windows. The Toarcian
Toarcian
The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age or stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 183.0 Ma and 175.6 Ma...
clays were exploited by numerous small tile factories. The relatively soft Creataceous limestones (especially the Turonian
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 93.5 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.3 ± 1 Ma...
) were mined in hundreds of small quarries, because they were a much appreciated building stone. All these activities have now almost come to a halt in the park. There are a few quarries still in operation, but they produce mainly gravel for roadworks or limestone flour for agricultural purposes.
Many small pockets of pegmatite
Pegmatite
A pegmatite is a very crystalline, intrusive igneous rock composed of interlocking crystals usually larger than 2.5 cm in size; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic....
s used to be exploited locally as a resource for the porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
industry.
A curiosity was an ultrapure quartz lens found near Saint-Paul-la-Roche
Saint-Paul-la-Roche
Saint-Paul-la-Roche, in Occitan Sent Pau la Ròcha, is a commune in the northeast of the Dordogne department in the Aquitaine region in southwestern France...
with parallel C-surfaces belonging to a C/S fabric. Originally this fabric was attributed to the Rochechouart crater
Rochechouart crater
Rochechouart is an impact crater in France.The crater diameter is still under study but is expected to be about . Its most recent age estimate is 201 ±2 million years ago, placing it close to Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Since then the crater has been deeply eroded, and no trace of its original...
, but later on its purely tectonic character was confirmed. Meanwhile the outcrop has been completely exploited due to requests by the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
industry and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
.
In the last two centuries lodes containing lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
were mined near Nontron
Nontron
Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:According to the historian Ribault de Laugardière, the name Nontron derives from the Tyrian language, from Nata and Dun...
and Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière
Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière
Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière , in occitan Sent Pardol la Ribiera, is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It forms part of the Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin.- Etymology :...
. Iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
used to be exploited in the Sidèrolithique - small iron-rich Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
deposits. At the base of these iron deposits are manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
-rich layers in karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
ic depressions and infills. They formed the basis for manganese mining activities that have ceased in the last century.
The following metals are known to exist, but have never been mined:
- antimonyAntimonyAntimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
− in pyritePyriteThe mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
near Bussière-Galant - copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
− in chalcopyriteChalcopyriteChalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green tinged black.On exposure to air, chalcopyrite...
and in covelliteCovelliteCovellite is a rare copper sulfide mineral with the formula CuS. This indigo blue mineral is ubiquitous in copper ores, it is found in limited abundance and is not an important ore of copper itself, although it is well known to mineral collectors.The mineral is associated with chalcocite in zones...
near Saint-Pierre-de-FrugieSaint-Pierre-de-FrugieSaint-Pierre-de-Frugie is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.The village is dependent on tourism. The heart of the town contains a central office, staffed only part-time, a single restaurant , and one hotel.... - goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
− in arsenopyriteArsenopyriteArsenopyrite is an iron arsenic sulfide . It is a hard metallic, opaque, steel grey to silver white mineral with a relatively high specific gravity of 6.1. When dissolved in nitric acid, it releases elemental sulfur. When arsenopyrite is heated, it becomes magnetic and gives off toxic fumes...
near Bussière-Galant - tinTinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
− in cassiteriteCassiteriteCassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...
near CussacCussac, Haute-VienneCussac is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.Inhabitants are known as Cussacois.-References:*... - tungstenTungstenTungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
− in scheeliteScheeliteScheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral with the chemical formula CaWO4. It is an important ore of tungsten. Well-formed crystals are sought by collectors and are occasionally fashioned into gemstones when suitably free of flaws...
near Montibus, commune of MialetMialet, DordogneMialet is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:... - uraniumUraniumUranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
− in autuniteAutuniteAutunite with formula: Ca22·10-12H2O is a yellow - greenish fluorescent mineral with a hardness of 2 - 2½. Autunite crystallizes in the tetragonal system and often occurs as tabular square crystals. Due to the moderate uranium content of 48.27% it is radioactive and also used as uranium ore...
and in chalcolite, commune of Champs-RomainChamps-RomainChamps-Romain is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
.
Flora
Biotope
Biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. Biotope is almost synonymous with the term habitat, but while the subject of a habitat is a species or a population, the subject of a biotope is a biological community.It...
s and therefore possesses a very varied flora. Remarkable are the orchids with 25 different known species. Amongst the orchids one finds species like Anacamptis coriophora
Anacamptis coriophora
Anacamptis coriophora is a species of orchid....
, bee orchid
Bee Orchid
The Bee Orchid is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:The name "Ophrys" derives from the Greek word "ophrys", meaning "eyebrow", while the Latin name of the species "apifera" refers to the bee-shaped lip.-Description: The Bee Orchid grows to a height of ....
, Dactylorhiza maculata
Dactylorhiza maculata
The Heath Spotted Orchid or Moorland Spotted Orchid , is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:...
, fly orchid
Fly Orchid
Ophrys insectifera, the Fly Orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is native to Europe and favors sites with alkaline soil. The name arises because it resembles a fly, being totally dependent on flies and bees for pollination...
, frog orchid
Frog Orchid
The Frog Orchid, or Coeloglossum viride, also known as the Long-Bracted Green Orchid and Dactylorhiza viridis is a monotypic genus of the family Orchidaceae generally found within the palearctic ecozone throughout the mid to northern United States through Canada, and in the British Isles and parts...
and pyramidal orchid
Pyramidal orchid
The Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis, is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Genus Anacamptis of the family Orchidaceae...
. Besides the orchids grow chelidonium, common bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
, cornflower
Cornflower
Centaurea cyanus is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. "Cornflower" is also erroneously used for chicory, and more correctly for a few other Centaurea species; to distinguish C...
, the carnivorous Drosera rotundifolia
Drosera rotundifolia
Drosera rotundifolia is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens...
, equisetum, Gentiana pneumonanthe, geum
Geum
Geum , commonly called avens, is a genus of about 50 species of perennial herbaceous plants in the rose family Rosaceae, native to Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and New Zealand...
, honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
, mentha
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
, Papaver rhoeas, Polygonatum multiflorum
Polygonatum multiflorum
Polygonatum multiflorum is a plant species of the genus Polygonatum. In Britain it is one of three native species of the genus, the others being Angular Solomon's-seal and Whorled Solomon's-seal.-References:*Matthew Wood. Random House, 1997. ISBN 9781556432323; pp. 397–408...
and Verbascum thapsus.
Mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s are quite common as well with taxa like agaricus
Agaricus
Agaricus is a large and important genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with possibly over 300 members worldwide...
, boletus
Boletus
Boletus is a genus of mushroom, comprising over 100 species. The genus Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by Elias Magnus Fries in 1821, essentially containing all fungi with pores...
, craterellus
Craterellus
Craterellus is a genus of generally edible fungi similar to the closely related chanterelles, with some species recently reassigned to this genus. They are distinguished by their lack of gill-like structures on the underside of their caps....
and truffles.
Amongst shrubs and trees thrive Fraxinus excelsior, hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
, malus
Malus
Malus , the apples, are a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called...
, Mespilus germanica, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
, Robinia pseudoacacia, sambucus, sweet chestnut
Sweet Chestnut
Castanea sativa is a species of the flowering plant family Fagaceae, the tree and its edible seeds are referred to by several common names such Sweet Chestnut or Marron. Originally native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, it is now widely dispersed throughout Europe and parts of Asia, such as...
and walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
.
Fauna
In the park live over 40 different species of mammalMammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, amongst them beech marten
Beech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
, common genet
Common Genet
The Common Genet , also known as the Small-spotted Genet or European Genet, is a mammal from the order Carnivora, related to civets and linsangs. The most far-ranging of all the fourteen species of genet, it can be found throughout Africa, parts of the Middle East, and in Europe in Spain, Portugal,...
, european badger, european pine marten, european mink
European mink
The European mink , also known as the Russian mink, is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to Europe. It is listed by the IUCN as Endangered due to an ongoing reduction in numbers, having been calculated as being more than 50% over the past three generations...
, european otter
European Otter
The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, garden dormouse
Garden dormouse
The garden dormouse is a rodent in the dormouse family.- Features :Garden dormice are typically in length, with the tail adding an additional . They weigh . The coat is gray or brown, with a white underside...
, hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
, red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
, red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
, roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
and wild boar.
Bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s comprise on their own 12 different species, amongst them barbastelle
Barbastelle
The Barbastelle , also known as the Western Barbastelle, is a European bat. It has a short nose, small eyes and wide ears.It is rare throughout its range...
, greater horseshoe bat
Greater Horseshoe Bat
The Greater Horseshoe Bat is a European bat of the Rhinolophus genus. Its distribution covers Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia. It is the largest of the European Horseshoe Bats and is thus easily distinguished from other species...
, lesser horseshoe bat
Lesser horseshoe bat
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat , is a type of European bat related to but smaller than its cousin, the Greater Horseshoe Bat...
, pipistrellus
Pipistrellus
Pipistrellus is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word Pipistrello, meaning "bat"....
, plecotus
Plecotus
The genus Plecotus consists of the lump-nosed bats. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.-Species:Genus Plecotus - Lump-nosed bats*Plecotus ariel*Brown Long-eared Bat, Plecotus auritus...
and whiskered bat
Whiskered bat
The whiskered bats Myotis mystacinus and related species, are small European bats with long fur. Although uncommon, M. mystacinus is often found around human habitation and around water; it is similar to Brandt's bat Myotis brandtii, from which it was distinguished as a separate species only in...
.
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
, black kite
Black Kite
The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...
, black redstart
Black Redstart
The Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family , but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher .-Description:The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20...
, black woodpecker
Black Woodpecker
The Black Woodpecker, Dryocopus martius, is a large woodpecker, 45–50 cm long with a 64–84 cm wingspan. Body weight is approximately 300-400 grams on average. It is easily the largest woodpecker in its range...
, common buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
, common cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
, common kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
, common kingfisher, common moorhen
Common Moorhen
The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
, european nightjar
European Nightjar
The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia.- Habitat and distribution :...
, european robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
, great spotted woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
, grey partridge
Grey Partridge
The Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, also known as the English Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, or Hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds...
, hen harrier
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
, honey buzzard
Honey Buzzard
The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....
, hoopoe
Hoopoe
The Hoopoe is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes...
, jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
, little owl
Little Owl
The Little Owl is a bird which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain, but was first introduced in 1842, and is now naturalised there...
, nightingale
Nightingale
The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
, shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
and swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
.
Amongst the reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s 12 species have their habitat in the park, e.g., grass snake
Grass Snake
The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...
, vipera aspis
Vipera aspis
Vipera aspis is a venomous viper species found in southwestern Europe. Bites from this species can be more severe than from the European adder, V. berus; not only can they be very painful, but about 4% of all untreated bites are fatal...
, wall lizard
Wall lizard
The common wall lizard is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in total length.-Identification:The common wall lizard is a small, thin lizard...
and western green lizard
Western Green Lizard
The Western Green Lizard is a member of the Lacertidae family.It is found in Andorra, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, in Jersey in the British Isles, and the United States....
.
Amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s comprise also 12 species like for example agile frog
Agile Frog
The Agile Frog is a frog in the genus Rana in the family of the true frogs.-Physical description:This species are skinny and have long limbs and a pointy snout. Adult males are rarely larger than 6.5 centimeters, while females can get up to 8 centimeters. Its ventral surface is light brown,...
, common frog
Common Frog
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
, common toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
, european tree frog
European tree frog
The European tree frog is the common name of Hyla arborea. The original name of this frog was Rana arborea. Some of the other common names include:*Rainette verte *Laubfrosch *Ranita de San Antonio...
, fire salamander
Fire Salamander
The fire salamander is probably the best-known salamander species in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant. Shades of red and orange may sometimes appear, either replacing or mixing...
and marbled newt
Marbled Newt
The Marbled Newt is a mainly terrestrial newt native to Europe.-Physical description:Marbled newts have dark brown or black bodies with irregular patterns of green. They have black bellies with off-white specks. Adult females have an orange stripe running down the back from the head to the tip of...
.
Amongst the fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
es there are brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, common minnow, european brook lamprey and european bullhead
European bullhead
The bullhead is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the Cottidae family, a type of sculpin...
.
Also many different invertebrates are present, amongst them Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes
Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...
, freshwater pearl mussel
Freshwater pearl mussel
The freshwater pearl mussel, scientific name Margaritifera margaritifera, is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae....
and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s like caelifera, crickets
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
, geotrupidae, Lucanus cervus
Lucanus cervus
Lucanus cervus is the best-known species of stag beetle , and is sometimes referred to simply as the stag beetle. It lives in holes in old trees and dead trunks, in the forest as well as in groves. Forest management, in eliminating old trees and deadwood, eliminates at the same time the habitat and...
, lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
and odonata
Odonata
Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies and damselflies . The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but the back-formation odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole...
.
Prehistory
The park's area has been inhabitated by humans (Homo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
and Homo neanderthalensis
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
) since the Lower Paleolithic
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
. More than 1200 stone tool remnants found near Vayres
Vayres, Haute-Vienne
Vayres is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Vayrois.-References:*...
document the presence of humans from 300 000 years BP onwards (Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
) into the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
. The numerous findings (well over 3000 pieces) near Montoume (commune of Chéronnac
Chéronnac
Chéronnac is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-Geography:At Chéronnac is the source of Charente River.Inhabitants are known as Chéronnacais.-References:*...
) cover Middle Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleolithic in African archeology. The Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age...
, Upper Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
, Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
and Neolithic.
Dwellings
Rock shelterRock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s, grottoes and caves in the valley of the Bandiat
Bandiat
The Bandiat is a small river that is 91 km long, a left tributary of the Tardoire. It flows through the Haute-Vienne, Dordogne and Charente departments in France.-Geography:...
, the Dronne
Dronne
The Dronne is a 201 km long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle River. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus at an elevation of 510 m...
, the Nizonne, the Tardoire
Tardoire
The Tardoire is a river in southwestern France, left tributary to the river Bonnieure. Its source is in Châlus, in the Haute-Vienne département. It flows into the Bonnieure near Saint-Ciers-sur-Bonnieure...
and the Trincou have been occupied since the Mousterian
Mousterian
Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age.-Naming:...
up into the Magdalenian
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian , refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP...
. Examples are:
- Brouillaud near La Tour-BlancheLa Tour-BlancheLa Tour-Blanche is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
− Mousterian and AurignacianAurignacianThe Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted broadly within the period from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in terms of conventional radiocarbon dating, or between ca. 47,000 and 41,000 years ago in terms of the most... - Font Bargeix near La Chapelle-MontmoreauLa Chapelle-MontmoreauLa Chapelle-Montmoreau is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
− Magdalenian - Fronsac near Vieux-MareuilVieux-MareuilVieux-Mareuil is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
− Magdalenian - La Jovelle near La Tour-Blanche - engravings of a capricorn and a mammoth - PérigordianPérigordianPérigordian is a term for several distinct but related Upper Upper Palaeolithic cultures which are thought by some archaeologists to represent a contiguous tradition. It existed between c.35,000 BP and c.20,000 BP....
? - La Peyzie near La Tour-Blanche - Magdalenian and AzilianAzilianThe Azilian is a name given by archaeologists to an industry of the Epipaleolithic in northern Spain and southern France.It probably dates to the period of the Allerød Oscillation around 10,000 years ago and followed the Magdalenian culture...
- La Tabaterie near La Gonterie-BoulouneixLa Gonterie-BoulouneixLa Gonterie-Boulouneix , in Occitan La Gontariá e Bolonés, is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.- Etymology :...
- paleolithic rock shelter, slightly outside of the park - Puyrignac near Champeaux-et-la-Chapelle-PommierChampeaux-et-la-Chapelle-PommierChampeaux-et-la-Chapelle-Pommier is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
- Rebières near BrantômeBrantôme, DordogneBrantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
- several rock shelters and caves, somewhat outside of the park - Sandougne near La Gonterie-Boulouneix - Mousterian
- VillarsVillars, DordogneVillars is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
- 30 engravings and cave paintings (blue horse, capricorns, hunter attacked by a bison) - early Magdalenian (17000 – 15000 years BP) - TeyjatTeyjatTeyjat is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:* *...
- engravings of bisons, red deer, horses and reindeer - late Magdalenian (~ 10000 years BP)
The neolithic open-air sites Montoume and Nouaillas near Vayres document the gradual changeover from hunter-gatherers to a more agrarian/sessile lifestyle. Finds include stone axes, arrow heads, scrapers and whetstones made from quartz or metamorphic schists.
Megalith culture
From the megalithic periodMegalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
there are several dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
and menhir
Menhir
A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...
s left behind in the park. Examples for dolmen are:
- Caillou blanc near RochechouartRochechouartRochechouart is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
- Chez-Moutaud near Saint-AuventSaint-AuventSaint-Auvent is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Auventais.-References:*...
- La Côte near Saint-Laurent-sur-GorreSaint-Laurent-sur-GorreSaint-Laurent-sur-Gorre is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Laurentais.-References:*...
- La Jalinie near Saint-Jory-de-ChalaisSaint-Jory-de-ChalaisSaint-Jory-de-Chalais is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:The Côle flows south through the middle of the commune; it forms part of the commune's northern and southern borders.-Population:-References:*...
- La Tamanie near Oradour-sur-Vayres
- Le Fouret near Condat-sur-TrincouCondat-sur-TrincouCondat-sur-Trincou is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:The village lies on the right bank of the Trincou, which flows southwest through the northern part of the commune, before to flow into the Côle....
- Peyre d'Ermale near Paussac-et-Saint-VivienPaussac-et-Saint-VivienPaussac-et-Saint-Vivien is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, somewhat outside of the park - Peyrelevade near BrantômeBrantôme, DordogneBrantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
, outside of the park - Peyrelevade near Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, outside of the park
- Pierre Plate near Veaubrunet, commune of TeyjatTeyjatTeyjat is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:* *...
- remnants
Examples for menhirs are:
- Chez-Moutaud near Saint-Auvent
- Coudert-Ferry near Milhac-de-NontronMilhac-de-NontronMilhac-de-Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
- Firbeix near Piégut-PluviersPiégut-PluviersPiégut-Pluviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.The commune is located from Angoulême, from Périgueux and Limoges and from Bordeaux.-Population:-History:...
- Le Fouret near Condat-sur-Trincou
- Lescuyras near Saint-Laurent-sur-Gorre
- Theil near GorreGorreGorre is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Gorrois.-References:*...
The dolmen and menhirs were erected about 3500 BC and are attributed to the Artenac culture. Many stone tools, stone knives, arrow heads and whetstones made from flint have been found nearby. Significant is the first occurrence of plain and adorned pottery fragments.
Early history
A Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlement near Chalat, commune of Vayres
Vayres, Haute-Vienne
Vayres is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Vayrois.-References:*...
, has so far yielded only insignificant findings.
From the early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
date several tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
and a necropolis. Examples are:
- Champ des Mottes near Oradour-sur-Vayres - tumuli
- Coudert-Ferry near Milhac-de-Nontron - tumulus
- La Motte near RochechouartRochechouartRochechouart is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
- tumulus and necropolis
Iron fibulae and iron knives were discovered in geometrically adorned vases that also kept the ashes of the defunct.
Several Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
sites are also known, such as the villa foundations near Nontronneau
Lussas-et-Nontronneau
Lussas-et-Nontronneau is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.In 1827, the communes of Lussas and Nontronneau formed into Lussas-et-Nontronneau-Population:-External links:* *...
not far from Nontron
Nontron
Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:According to the historian Ribault de Laugardière, the name Nontron derives from the Tyrian language, from Nata and Dun...
. Outside the park are the thermae
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
near Chassenon (Cassinomagus) in the Charente département. The park is traversed by the ancient Roman road Via Agrippa
Via Agrippa
The term Via Agrippa, describes any stretch of the network of Roman roads in Gaul that were built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, to whom Octavian entrusted the reorganization of the Gauls. In all, the Romans built of roads in Gaul.-Agrippa's project:...
that connected Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
with Saintes
Saintes
Saintes is a French commune located in Poitou-Charentes, in the southwestern Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais....
.
There is a Merovingian
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...
necropolis dating back to the 6th century in La Blancherie near Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien
Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien
Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
at the edge of the park.
Sites of interest
In the Charente département: the reservoirReservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s Lavaud and Mas Chaban.
In the Dordogne département: Château de Richemont
Château de Richemont
Château de Richemont is a château in Dordogne, Aquitane, France. It was built between 1564 and 1610....
, Nontron
Nontron
Nontron is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:According to the historian Ribault de Laugardière, the name Nontron derives from the Tyrian language, from Nata and Dun...
, Saut du Chalard near Champs-Romain
Champs-Romain
Champs-Romain is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Château de Jumilhac
Château de Jumilhac
Château de Jumilhac is a château in Dordogne, Aquitane, France....
in Jumilhac-le-Grand
Jumilhac-le-Grand
Jumilhac-le-Grand is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.The village lies on the road followed by Richard the Lionheart and on one of the many branches of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route....
, the round dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
tower of Piégut
Piégut-Pluviers
Piégut-Pluviers is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.The commune is located from Angoulême, from Périgueux and Limoges and from Bordeaux.-Population:-History:...
, Château des Bernadières near Champeaux-et-la-Chapelle-Pommier
Champeaux-et-la-Chapelle-Pommier
Champeaux-et-la-Chapelle-Pommier is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, the romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
church in Bussière-Badil
Bussière-Badil
Bussière-Badil is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France, part of the Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin.The place is first mentioned in 768 when the Order of Saint Benedict built a priory there. The romanesque art style church was built in the 12th...
, Château de Mareuil in Mareuil
Mareuil, Dordogne
Mareuil is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:...
, Abbey Saint-Pierre in Brantôme
Brantôme, Dordogne
Brantôme is a commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France.It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. Via Lemovicensis, an ancient Roman Road runs through Brantôme...
.
In the Haute-Vienne département: Château de Montbrun
Château de Montbrun
The Château de Montbrun is a castle in the commune of Dournazac in the Haute-Vienne département of France. The castle was built in the 12th and 15th centuries, and was restored in the late 19th....
, Château de Rochechouart
Château de Rochechouart
Château de Rochechouart is a thirteenth century French castle, located at the top of the confluence of the Grêne and Vayres rivers in the commune of Rochechouart within the département of Haute-Vienne.- Background :...
, the castle in Les Cars
Les Cars
Les Cars is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.- References :*...
, Château de Brie near Champagnac-la-Rivière
Champagnac-la-Rivière
Champagnac-la-Rivière is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-References:*...
, the two castles in Châlus
Châlus
Châlus is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-History:Châlus' is where Richard I of England was wounded by a crossbow bolt and killed as a result of the wound...
- Château de Châlus-Chabrol
Château de Chalus-Chabrol
The Château de Chalus-Chabrol is a castle in the commune of Châlus in the département of Haute-Vienne, France.The castle dominates the town of Châlus...
and Château de Châlus-Maulmont, the romanesque church in Salles-Lavauguyon, the church in Flavignac
Flavignac
Flavignac is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.Inhabitants are known as Flavignacois.-References:*...
with reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
, the reservoir in Bussière-Galant.
Literature
- Aubarbier, J.L., Binet, M., Bouchard, J.P. und Guichard, G. (1991). Aimer la Préhistoire en Périgord. Éditions Ouest-France. ISBN 2-7373-0786-4
- Chèvremont, P., Floch, J.P., Ménillet, F., Stussi, J.M., Delbos, R., Sauret, B., Blès, J.L., Courbe, C. und Vuaillat, D. (1996). Carte géologique de la France à 1/50000, Feuille Rochechouart. BRGM éditions.
- Les minéraux de Nontron. Le Règne Minéral, Novembre/Décembre, Munich 2008