Natural Patrimony
Nant is situated in the Dourbie gorges, on the Atlantic side of the
Cevennes. The Dourbie river has its source in the "Mount
Aulas" (1200 meters high), in the Mount Aigoual massif, it digs its bed in
granite, then in schist. From Nant, the Dourbie goes through the Grand Causses’
calcareous rocks, which were shaped and turned into very steep gorges which
separate the "Causse Noir" and the "Causse du Larzac".
Then, it flows into the Tarn in Millau, after a course of seventy-kilometres.
The "Grand Causses" are made up of calcareous formations
dating from the Jurassic, organized into Karstic systems which produce a dozen
important springs in the valley. The Durzon spring located seven kilometres from Nant
re-appears at the foot of the Larzac, forming a large basin. The Durzon flows
into the Dourbie at "La Mouline".
Under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, the flora includes
lots of rare, endemic or protected species: hellebores, campanulas,
catananches, thyme, orchids, aphyllantes of Montpellier, and on the Causses,
the "Cardabelle" and the "Stipe Pennée".
The fauna is very rich too: the genet, the squirrel and various birds of
prey. In the rivers, the diving-cincle, and the beaver reintroduced in the
Dourbie river in 1987.
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