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What is the Causse like?

The Causse is a vast chalky plateau with grandiose ramparts of chalk. The soil is filled with sink holes, hollows and caves.
Its height is about 850m and it is the land of stones and sheep.

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The "Grands Causses" situation

The "Grands Causses" region is divided into four parts which are separated by rivers. The northern part of the Sauveterre Causse is surrounded by the Lot valley which depth varies from 200m to 400m.; and its southern part is surrounded by the famous Gorges of the Tarn which it dominates from 500 meters on 60 kilometres. The Mejean Causse, "mejo" in old French, means "middle" is located between the Gorges of the Tarn and the Gorges of the Jonte. It sets the boundaries of the Cevennes and Aigoual.

The Causse noir (black Causse) owes its name to the black Austrian pine trees which were lately planted.
The last one is called The Causse of the Larzac and stretches till the "midi", (South of France). The deep valleys which are between the different causse mountains are called the Gorges . The Tarn river is the most famous one but there are other rivers (Jonte, Dourbie and Trevézel).
There is an important contrast between the landscape of the causses and of the valleys. In times past, vineyards were cultivated on the steep terrace cultivation but farming extended on the causse mountains due to industrialisation and so did tourism in the valley.

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The Sauveterre Causse :



"Sauveterre" means safe land, free from any kind of serfdom.
From the tough country of Mont Lozère in the East to the Aveyron valley, the Causse of the Sauveterre has a crescent shape and represents about 6000 hectares. It is the second largest causse after the Larzac.
It is a place of high interest for walkers who will easily recognize three different natural regions.
The eastern part is called the bare causse because it has a rare vegetation, some mountains (height of about 1000m) and a few pine trees which were lately planted.
It is very similar to the description you can find in geography school books, barren, stony and stamped by sheep.
In the middle, you have the wooded causse characterised by a more uneven landscape, with a few round mountains and in between, you have the previous dry valleys which were dug by the Lot river and by the Tarn river ( height : 780-1000m).
Forests became more important when the pastures were given up. The forest is used to produce paper pulp.
There are few farms which can only farm the most fertile lands called "dolines" or "combes".
In the south west, there is the Causse of the Massegros which is a fault separating two rocks of different ages. You will find a bit of all the causse landscape on this one, from the barren stony stretches to natural arches overlooking the Gorges of the Tarn, forests and pastures.
It is flatter and less high (850m) than the wooded Causse . There is a mountain climate and since it is a chalky soil, water quickly percolates and it is not trouble free for the vegetation and for men.

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The land and its inhabitants.

The Causse is a transitional area where toughness is mixed with sweetness and shyness with kindness. People who live on the Causse have a funny southern accent which is nothing but the result of the old occitan language that they still speak. The folklore and the gastronomy are closed to that of Auvergne region (old typical suits, dances, food) but their way of life and their history is close to the Languedoc region. This history is rich of legends and mysteries linked to the principal characters, that is to say sheep and stone.
It started with the dolmen civilisation, you can find many of them on the Causse, and is still going on with this pastoral civilisation which has resisted to many invasions (Celts, Romans..), religious and ideological wars, epidemics or the Gevaudan beast which didn’t dare to go on the Causse!
Nowadays, we can say that the queen of the Causse is ewe, useful for its wool and, above all, its milk which is used for the making of Roquefort cheese. It has been a hard work for farmers to work on this stony land. They had to remove most of the stones and they used them to build houses or shelters.

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Architecture.

The builders managed to adapt their work to this environment. Chalky stone was used in building and so was vaulting. Houses and farms were in the same typical three level buildings. The sheepfold was on the ground floor and was built with a flat circle vault, which made it wider. The paving which is on top of the vault was used as the first floor of the house. The second and the third floors were built following the same technique and the different floors were separated by wooden floors.

Openings were a bit awkward to make because each stone is maintained by the thrust of the others.
The roof is made of "lauzes", typical flat chalky stones which are put down on the vault that had been covered by the paving.
The only possible openings are to be found on the independent gables and are surmounted by little roofs , that is a characteristic of this style.
The farm house had a little balcony which lead to the common rooms and underneath was a little porch leading to the sheepfold and to one of the most important thing in the house : the water tank. Water ran down the wooden gutters into the water tank. People had sober furniture and their life was organised around the fireplace because it was the most important place in the house and the hottest one.
The barn was off the house to reduce fire risks.
Vaults are incombustible which is ideal for a country with no spring, they also protect from cold and spread the heat from the sheepfold but held up the smell.
The richest houses had two porches with arches to cover the balcony, it looks like in Spain, that is why it is called the "aragonais styles"(Aragon is a region in Spain).
Religious architecture is very important on the Causse and walkers will be able to see the numerous churches and crosses along the paths.
Farms from the Causse are in harmony with their environment.