National Park Trust Institute

(Click on photos for larger view) 

Friday May 5, 2000 was a free day for folks to do a bit of sightseeing on their own. Paul Pritchard led a small group to Le Verdon Regional Nature Park. The Gorges of Verdon.

The park extends from east to west from Saint-Andre-les-Alpes to Vinon-sur-Verdon and from north to south from Saint-Jurs to Regusse. It is organized around the gorges of Verdon and five dammed lakes, created by the French National Electricity Utility (EDF) from 1949 to 1974 on the stream's lower and middle runs. 

At the bottom of the gorges of Verdon, which are colder, we find high altitude plants, Mediterranean and Apline animals (many chamois) all together. A vast surface sloping from east to west, the plateau has a very homogeneous landscape. It was formerly essentially devoted to raising lavender and lavandin along with cereals. It is now changing over to corn and fruit orchards. 

On the limestone hills, formerly terraced into fields, where olives, vegetables, and grapes are still raised, brush and forest have been gradually taking over. In the oak forests, truffles are still raised with one of the best productions in France. 

To the east, the landscape opens onto broad often-grandiose valleys. As you can see from the photos, the views of these valleys are breathtaking.

    
      

Next - The Group Photo

Copyright 2000 National Park Trust
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