The three lakes

13 points of interest

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  History & Heritage

  The legend of the Lady of the lake

  Lake countries are haunted by many legends: faeries, knights and witches float above their mysterious waters. Several legends serve as the origin of the name “Lac à la Dame” (the Lady’s lake). One legend states that this small lake was dug out by the mysterious knight that wanders over the lakes of Bonlieu, Maclu and Narlay, at the request of a woman he once loved. In exchange for this favour, she would give herself to him body and soul. During foggy weather, you might see the Lady’s long white dress floating over the lake!

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  History & Heritage

  The Chalet “larmiers”

  Used to air dairy products and a room where milk was stored to cool before being turned into cheese, “larmiers” are narrow and long vertical openings that can be seen on the facades of former cheese dairies like here in Les Monnets.
  In the hamlet of Coin d’Aval, in the municipality of Fort-du-Plasne, you can visit an old chalet (or cheese dairy).

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  Flora

  Characteristics of the flora in peat bogs

  The species living in peat bogs have adapted to the omnipresence of water, to few nutritional resources, to the chemical composition of the soil - which, in calcareous regions, can be acid or basic - and to a rather cold climate.  

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  Flora

  Cotton grass

  Cotton grass, resembling a cotton bud with a white feathered end, is easily recognisable in peat bogs. Its meter-long roots enable it to store nutritional reserves, as the ground is very low in minerals. It’s a plant that is suited to a northern climate (cold). It was widespread across Europe a few thousand years ago. However, the climate subsequently grew warmer and it only survived in Scandinavian countries and in peat bogs, where no other plant is able to replace it.

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  Natural environments

  The peat bog: a carbon well

  The need to protect peat bogs is a recent revelation. These fragile environments play an important role in maintaining water quality and in naturally combatting the effects of drought and climate change. Plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air by photosynthesis to form their tissue: leaves, trunk, stems, etc. When they die, they are decomposed by microorganisms in the ground and return the carbon into the air. But in a peat bog, the presence of water prevents decomposing organisms from working, which traps the carbon in the peat. Peat bogs only represent 3% of the surface of emerged land, but they store 30% of the Earth soils’ carbon!

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  Fauna

  The red kite

  This raptor is easily recognisable due to its long, indented tail. With its impressive size, this bird is a wonderful glider. It looks for its food in-flight. An opportunist, it watches the ground attentively to find rodents, lizards or the carcasses of other dead animals. Small prey (insects, earthworm or reptiles) can be hunted by walking through the meadows. Therefore, you will often see the red kite above freshly-cut meadows.

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  History & Heritage

  View over the old cheese dairy

  As from the 18th century, cheese specialisation and the pooling of milk in cooperative structures - “fruitières” - brought farmers out of a self-subsistence economy. Cheese production, which became more and more organised, also became more profitable thanks to the trade networks promoted by “rollers” (road hauliers) in particular. Traders would deliver cheeses to the main French cities, including Lyon.

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  Flora

  Mont Noir forest

  Spread across 1873 hectares, the Mont Noir massif is one of the largest Jura forests. It is currently made up of dark-leaved trees, such as fir, spruce and beechwood, hence its name. Stags, boar and roe deer live here alongside the lynx and the western capercaillie. Wood exploitation is an important economic activity for our mountains. However, the forest also accommodates hikers wishing to take long works on the waymarked paths, both during summer and winter. Share this area and be careful if you come across forest works.

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  Natural environments

  View over the lac des Rouges Truites peat bog

  Inherited from the icebergs which covered the Jura ten thousand years ago and left behind moraines with water-tight bottoms, a peat bog formed from the accumulation of stagnant water full of cold-resistant plants. The moving soil in peat bogs are made up of a thick carpet of peat moss, on which a few well-adjusted plants are able to grow (cranberry, cottongrass, andromeda, drosera, mountain pine, etc.) These fragile environments are of biological interest and must therefore be preserved.

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  Flora

  The spruce

  A widespread conifer in Europe, this tree is the ultimate tree of mountainous regions. Some high-quality wood can be used for lutherie to make soundboards for various instruments (violins, guitars, etc.). However, most of production is used for lumber (construction and woodwork).
  
  It is often confused with fir. However, a keen eye will be able to notice a difference in the needles, which are pointed on the spruce and flat and rounded on the fir, or in the position of the cones (fir cones). The spruce’s cones direct downwards at the end of drooping branches, whilst the fir’s cones point upwards at the end of upright branches.

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  Fauna

  The common snipe

  Although several species of water birds can be seen in this area, the common snipe is one of the most emblematic. This migratory bird loves humid environments where it can hide and feed. Its long, thin beak has a flexible end enabling it to feel for its prey in water or mud, close to the high vegetation on the shore. This allows it to feed mostly on invertebrates. Today, the common snipe is one of the rarest and most endangered nesting species in France. But here, a keen ear may still be lucky enough the hear its “drumming”, the sound that it makes during its courtship display flights, usually at dusk during the spring months.

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  History & Heritage

  Hamlet and neighbourhood

  A place of family history and a geographical marker, houses are part of an often-strong neighbour and inter-knowledge network. Some farms or lands bear the name of one of their former occupants when the latter left a mark. In a dispersed housing context, in which hamlets are far apart from one another, the specific characteristics of their natural environment - and even personal histories - also give them their names: Sous le Mont Noir, Grange à l’Olive, etc.

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  History & Heritage

  Taming the river

  Originally part of a self-sufficiency economy, crafts activities provided for domestic needs or for the needs of a restricted trade. Tanneries, smithies, hemp beater mills and grain mills sprouted along the waterway and today, many of their infrastructures still exist: paddle wheels, dams, water supply canals, etc. (PNRHJ - Collection patrimoine, “Heritage collection”)