Terres Noires

Prized by mountain bikers, Terres Noires, or black earth, is formed from rocks which erode easily, which explains the presence of installations put in place by the RTM, the Mountain Land Rehabilitation agency. The flows caused by precipitations shape and sculpt these friable marls. In the Alpine region, numerous examples can be seen, in particular on slopes, which vary in gradient depending on the area, which increases the speed of the water flow. In the Southern Alps, the Terres Noires are formed by Jurassic marls. In the Jurassic period, there was an ocean where the Alps now stand. Today, this black earth covers an area of more than 100,000 hectares in the Durance catchment basin alone.