FRANCE  |  Alpilles & Garrigues, France Travel Guide
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The Garrigues

Low, soft-leaved scrub in the Garrigues, France (cc)
Photo: Piarou
 

The Garrigues

The Garrigues region takes its name from its stony landscape. The term garrigue, used in both France and Spain, refers to stretches of dry, pebbly soil and stone table land that cannot hold rainwater and, therefore, is able to support only rough, scrubby plants. The Garrigues of Provence are of a particularly vast extent, reaching from just north of Nîmes to the edge of the Massif Central, France’s central mountain region. Composed of gentle, rounded hills (which the French evocatively call mamelons), covered with rockrose, thistle, thorn and broom, the Garrigues are characteristically harsh and dry. But this is Provence, where even hard and austere landscapes have soft pleasures. Wild lavender, thyme and rosemary flourish here and other aromatic plants (basil, sage, marjoram and savory) are cultivated, keeping the air scented year-round. The Gorges du Gardon divides The Garrigues almost in half and marks the border between Provence and the Cévennes Region.

Last updated May 8, 2011
Posted in   France  |  Alpilles & Garrigues
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