Deciphering the memory of rocks to tell their story... Fascinating dive into the abyss of time.
But the material is complex, even austere, and for a long time only attracted geologists, the latter sometimes going so far as to lick pebbles.
Not the gesture of madmen: this is how the stones are identified.
On the paths of the popularization of geology,
"the development of tourism has made it possible to get it out of the academic ghetto",
rejoices Jean-Simon Pagès, director of the Unesco Geopark of Haute-Provence, where the adventure of geotourism began.
It was in 1978. Guy Martini, then a student in this discipline, embarked on an inventory of the geological riches of Digne and its surroundings to make it a guide.
But what he discovers is in his eyes so precious that he gives up, fearing to contribute to the looting of the sites.
And he proposes, on the contrary, the creation of a nature reserve in order to protect them.
The national geological reserve of Haute-Provence sees the…
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