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Causse Comtal Natural wonders

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  3. A bend, a landscape
  4. Causse Comtal
From the gates of Rodez to the Lot Valley, the Causse Comtal invites you to a timeless getaway. Populated by ancient dry-stone buildings, its arid vegetation will remind you of distant steppes. From pastoral traditions to geology, let the Causse Comtal take you back in time to fascinating worlds.
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    From the bowels of the earth to human history

    The formation of this limestone plateau goes back thousands of years, and its landscape was formed long before man existed. Placed on the same scale, dolmens and prehistoric sites will teach you that man has lived here for a very long time. In the Middle Ages, the monks of Aubrac made it their granary, storing grain in its fortified farms. You’ll also come across cazelles, small stone shelters that served as refuge for generations of shepherds, and admire the impressive homes of the Counts of Rodez. They made this causse their fiefdom and gave it its name.

    Bozouls a unique natural site

    In the heart of the Causse Comtal, Bozouls offers a discovery as spectacular as it is unexpected. In the limestone blocks of this plateau, the river Dourdou has eroded narrow, winding gorges with almost vertical walls – the Canyon de Bozouls. On its banks, where the village was built, the houses built overhanging the cliffs flirt with the precipice. The viewpoints invite you to discover breathtaking panoramas!

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      Make a jump in our redwoods

      Evidence of the major periods of tectonic activity that have marked the region and shaped its landscapes, faults have brought rougiers to the surface, in some places alongside the limestone soils of the Causse Comtal. You’ll recognize them by the color of their soils and their sandstone foundations, which, loaded with iron oxide, take on pretty garnet hues. It’s over these porous soils that the Dourdou flows. In winter, when it washes away their soil, it is said to be red with anger. Further down the valley, on the outskirts of Villecomtal, you’ll find an even more pronounced rougier.

      Did you know?

      To preserve the diversity of its natural resources, the Aveyron département has set up the Espaces Naturels Sensibles program. Part of a sustainable development approach, it aims to enhance and protect these environments while maintaining human activity. On the Causse Comtal, four sites benefit from protection programs: the Rodelle site, the Causse Comtal Hunting Reserve, the Bozouls Canyon and the Devèze Grande.

      More curves, another landscape

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