Sabot de Malepeyre, 30m-high rock overlooking the Urugne valley above the Gorges du Tarn golf course at La Canourgue.The Lot river rises at Mont Goulet and flows into the Garonne at Aiguillon.
On its way, it crosses a multitude of environments: from the mountainous lands downstream to the fertile, welcoming alluvial plains upstream, it is, at over 480 km long, the second longest river in France after the Marne.
Bridge over the Lot
Esclanèdes in the Lot Valley in the commune of Chanac
The village of Les Salelles, Lot Valley.
Batch 1200x800 1DID YOU KNOW?
Despite this, the Lot is a blessing for the Valley’s inhabitants, and it’s not for nothing that the most populous part of the département is located here!
The Lot is a river with very wide hydraulic amplitudes: it collects water from melting snow, and can also be subject to large floods when intense autumn and winter rains, blocked by the Massif Central, fall on the territory; while in the warm season its flow can be considerably slowed down during episodes of drought.
Sandwiched between the limestone Causse de Sauveterre on one side and the schist and basalt Aubrac on the other, the Lot Valley offers its inhabitants more fertile soil than the Causse and a less harsh climate than Aubrac. The Lot Valley, like the Gorges du Tarn, conceals mysterious geological shapes such as the Sabot de Malepeyre, the frog, the gendarme’s kepi, the lion of Balsièges…
Sabot De Malepeyre.DID YOU KNOW?
On our territory, the river flows through sandstone banks of yellow, grey and red as it approaches the Aveyron border.
Old house in limestone and red sandstone in the center of La Canourgue - Little Venice of LozèreDID YOU KNOW?
Millers used to sharpen their tools on this red sandstone, and you can still see the marks they left in some of the stones, as at the mill in the town of La Canourgue.
Red sandstone is found in a geological layer from the primary era, and only appears in areas where the surface rock layers have been deeply eroded. This material is easy to work with, as well as being resistant and hard, so it’s commonly used to build houses in the Lot Valley.
In Banassac and La Canourgue, it is also frequently used for door and window frames.
In the Lot Valley it is possible to find :
Yes, it’s up to you to find your ideal spot, but there are very few places where you can swim… you can easily swim in the village of Les Salelles, the gravel pit at Pratnau-rives, under the bridge at Saint-Laurent-d’Olt…
However, bathing is not supervised and water quality is not always controlled, so be careful!
