The tour of the Rocher Baron (trail route no. 4)

Pendant les vacances d'été au Centre Montagne, découvrez l'histoire des paysans-mineurs de Villard-Saint-Pancrace à travers des témoignages authentiques et des objets porteurs d'histoire.Découvrez à travers des récits de vie et des souvenirs, le quotidien et les conditions de travail des paysans-mineurs, qui partageaient leur année et leurs journées entre les champs et la mine. L'exploitation minière commence au XVIIIe siècle, fixant es bases, à quelques détails, de ce qu'elle sera pendant près de trois siècles. Non reconnu économiquement, le charbon devient très bite un moyen de lutter contre l'exode rural. La dernière mine paysanne ferme en 1988.

In the wet areas beside the streams lives the large marsh grasshopper. Its French name, criquet engsanglanté, translates as the "bloodied grasshopper" because the female has purple-red marks which stand out against her general green colour. Her eggs are drought-sensitive so she only lays them in damp soil. When courting the female, the male does not chirp but makes clicking sounds, which he produces by stretching his hind leg in a sudden movement.

Un éclair rouge sur le chemin, puis plus rien … Mais si ! Un criquet tout gris est posé sur une pierre grise. Un autre éclair rouge : il s’est envolé puis s’est reposé, créant surprise et désarroi. Voilà de quoi désorienter un prédateur. L’oedipode rouge se préserve ainsi, repliant au repos ses ailes colorées sous ses élytres et jouant alors sur son homochromie. Un éclair bleu ? C’est son cousin l’oedipode bleu !

Gentle and melancholic calls can be heard coming from trees in the forest. They are the calls of the bullfinch, a plump and timid little passerine. The male can be identified from his pinkish red underside, while the female's is beige. Both have a black cap. They often live in small groups, staying in contact with one another through their little calls. It is a year-round resident.

Golden yellow needles in autumn, purple cones in the spring... The larch offers colour interest throughout the year, and rather suits its title "the tree of light". It drops its soft deciduous needles in autumn and winter. In spring, the slender branches of this conifer are dotted with female flowers, which will develop into cones, and male flowers. The larch thrives on the north-facing slopes and lights up the mountainsides. 

The alpine anemone or the alpine pulsatilla blooms here in the spring. It is a plant with a downy covering of white hairs on the large drooping flowers which are dark purple, contrasting with the bright yellow of the numerous stamens, and with very indented leaves. In summer, its fruits with a long pappus, or tuft, form a feathery seed head atop the stem. Although it is frequently found in localised areas, it is nevertheless a rare species dependent on steppe meadows in the Durance valley.