The Causse of the Langue d'Oc.

The dry limestone heathlands and woodlands of the dissected plateaus of the Causse are extensive from East to West in central southern France. Remains show they were much more heavily used by man until relatively recently - terraces and old buildings and sheepfolds suggest more intensive agriculture in the past, and old stone piles show where lauze tiles were once produced.

Red Barn: Typical plateau, forest in the background and oak scrub invading old sheep pasture with dogwood and wild rose in the foreground. Click to enlarge


Typical valley, steep sided, forested river valleys with larger villages than on the plateau. In the background the village of Marcillhac. Churches such as the Abbey in the background were often fortified leaving evidence of the hundreds of years of civil wars this area suffered from.

Cultivation on the plateau top, old settlement and agriculture.
Click to enlarge.