The Gorges of the Abime and Crêt Pourri

During heavy rain, the torrent carries stones and sand which, when whirled around by ferocious eddies, dig rounded, polished cavities into the riverbed. These holes, called potholes (or “Giant’s Kettles”) take on three forms which attest to the depression of the river:

• Permanently active potholes, at the bottom of the river.
• Potholes that are still active during flooding, higher up.
• Fossil potholes, at the waterway’s former level and which are no longer active.

In Très-Bayard, the path heads between old buildings that once served to make tiles and lime. Quicklime was produced by cooking limestone. Then, depending on the type of lime desired, it was “extinguished” and contained a higher or lesser percentage of water. The first indications of lime manufacturing date back to ten thousand years ago. Some kilns were merely a buried hearth. Others, like the one in Très-Bayard which was operational from 1882 to 1910, were much more elaborate and built of brick. Here, limestone was extracted from the foot of a small cliff above Très-bayard, at the same geological levels as the Crêt Pourri, and brought to two factories via cable car.

This beautiful limestone pyramid is decomposing due to surface runoff and gelation: freezing and thawing processes. Note the tenacity of the plants brave enough to tackle these permanent screes.

This discreet bird can be found in rocky hills with scattered bushes. Around the size of a sparrow, this species has a blue head and a black mask, which sets it apart from all other species in the region.

Viewpoint over the Gros Dard valley, Mont Bayard, the Foules cirque, the Flumen wind gap and the Tacon valley.