The Provencal village of Les Mées has around 3,600 inhabitants and is located at an altitude of around 410 metres in the Durance valley. It is popular for its geological peculiarity, a bizarre rock formation called Les Pénitents. The village itself is a typical village like the ones you often see in Provence. Sights include the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Olivier, the Chapel of Saint Honorat, the Porte Saint-Christol, the Porte Crose from the 16th century and the Chapel of Saint-Roch, which is located on the circular path of the rocks. But the village also shows its originality on a walk, for example on its market square with the Fontaine de la République.

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May 14, 2024

One geological feature makes the place unmistakable. It is Les Pénitents ('The Penitents'), a bizarre rock formation that rises above the village and is visible from afar. It stretches for about one kilometre and its highest peak towers 114 metres above the valley. The appearance of the rocks is reminiscent of a group of brothers wearing hooded monks' robes. Although the structure appears to be made up of individual cones, it is actually a single large sedimentary body made up of numerous superimposed layers of conglomerate (coarse gravel solidified into rock). The rock massif's current appearance is the result of the interplay of erosion and fracturing: the conglomerate that makes up the Pénitents is very resistant to erosion and was therefore naturally carved out of the mountain. Since erosion prefers the natural cracks that run through every rock,

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Napoleon🇨🇭🇨🇵🇪🇸🇳🇱🇩🇪🇦🇹🇵🇹

May 14, 2024

The small Provençal village of Les Mées lies on the northwest edge of the Plateau de Valensole in the Durance valley. Particularly worth seeing is the bizarre rock formation Les Pénitents (German: The Penitents), which can be seen from quite a distance. Erosion has created steep rock needles over 100 metres high, which are packed closely together and in some places look as if they have faces. There is a circular path over the Les Pénitents rock formation, but it is not always easy to walk, as the path is mostly narrow and in parts it leads over very rocky terrain. When wet it can quickly become very slippery here, so caution is advised. From above, however, there is a beautiful view over the Durance valley. The village of Les Mées itself is also worth taking a short walk through the old streets at the foot of the huge rocks; the Romanesque church also has an impressive bell tower.

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Elevation 420 m

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Monday 29 December

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-3°C

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Max wind speed: 16.0 km/h

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Location: Les Mées, Digne-Les-Bains, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte D'Azur, France

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