Demoiselles Coiffées de Bédoin

Near Bédoin, at the foot of Ventoux, this marvelous natural site remains a fragile environment that we must respect. This hike transports us to another world, to a good number of palettes, with idyllic colors. Unexpected natural curiosity is this small island of sand, colorful, with its crowned crests and needles, in the heart of the vineyards and cherry orchards. Ancient ochreous sand quarries, rainwater, wind and frost have sculpted an astonishing landscape. The paths of this walk in the site are sandy, like extremely fine sand from the Sahara. These famous Bédoin Coiffée Demoiselles hide in the middle of a forest of downy oaks and pines. On some of them you can see a ferruginous armor, called a fairy chimney, which is what this marvelous site is famous for. Lulled by the song of cicadas, it will delight young and old, with the beauty of these mineral sculptures, and with the palette of colors. These Coiffée Demoiselles, also called “fairy chimneys” are a kind of large natural column made of friable rocks, most often sedimentary, and whose top is made of a rock more resistant to erosion. These strange shapes are often the origin of many beliefs or legends. The origin of this site dates back to the middle of the Cretaceous. Emergences made up of ocher sand, which were exploited for the paint, polish and beauty product industry, until the 1950s. The Coiffé Demoiselles are obviously destined to disappear one day, by collapsing or losing their hat. The elevation of La Demoiselle in relation to the ground gives an idea of the importance of erosion.

=> original article: photosvillages.canalblog.com/archives/2020/05/05/38263101.html