Black Mountain

The Black Montagne , which shelters with its feet the town of Mazamet (capital of the Black Mountain) in the Tarn, is a mountainous solid mass located at the south-western end of the Massif Central, in France. It separates the departments from the Tarn, the Herault and the Aude.

Geography

The Black Mountain presents two faces: the abrupt northern slope is covered with dark forests of Chêne S, Sapin S and spruces. The southern slope includes/understands two countries: the Cabardès and the Minervois. It has the nudity and the aridity of the Mediterranean zones with Châtaignier S, olive-trees and Garrigue. It is however there that, in deep throats, water of the rivers of the area runs. Its culminating point is the Pic of Nore, with 1.210 meters. The Black Mountain is included in the Regional natural park of High-Languedoc.

Geology

It is an old solid mass Hercynien (- 360 million years with -300 million years) directed according to an axis. The overthrust folds reversed (the oldest rocks are above the youngest rocks) in the south-west of the solid mass are very famous.

This mountainous solid mass breaks up into three zones. A septentrional slope, made up of scales poured towards south-east. A southernmost slope composed of a very complex stacking of laid down tablecloth-folds. And finally an axial zone made up of domes ic Gneisses (ortho and paragneiss) and of Granite S framed by métasédiments (metamorphized sediments).

One can visit there the Grotte of Limousis and the Gouffre of Cabrespine. Famous careers of Granite are exploited in the area of the Sidobre. The southern slope of the Black Mountain rough and is peeled. It is inclined towards the plains of the Lauragais and consists of Garrigue surveyed by wild boar.

Vegetation

The density of the Forêt of the Montagne is at the origin of its name. It comprises approximately 55% of Feuillu S and much of Résineux.

In spite of the vicinity of the vineyards of the Aude and Herault, certain vine growers of the area did not find of heir to maintain the vineyards. But the walker can admire the colors of an undergrowth which are rolled up around the stock S let with goodwill nature.

History

Water of the Noire mountain was used to feed the Canal of the South. Under Louis XIV, a Engineer, brilliant for his time, Pierre-Paul Riquet had the role of connecting Toulouse to the the Mediterranean. It was the beginning a length and painful building site: The Channel of the South. But an enormous problem arose with them: how to feed this Waterway permanently. It had the idea to make build 3 Lac S in cascade, whose last was the Lac of Saint-Ironwood. There the machinery is which makes it possible to control the food to allow a stability of the water level in the channel. The digging of the channel was done with the hand with many workmen. It was expensive in human lives. Yesterday commercial way and today of pleasure, the channel of the South remains a major work of this man. Its name was given to many avenues, streets and even schools.

Economy

Mazamet remained famous for its industry of dewooling as of the 18th century. Manufactures of the city leave today: 12000000 of sheepskins. Mazamet must much with water of the Arnette and the Thoré which make it possible to wash the skin and especially wool exploited by textile industry. The future is dubious, the ground hardly pays. This is why the young people expatrient themselves in the great urban centres of the South of France.

At the village of Dourgne, which counts 1.275 inhabitants, one exploits stone quarries and Ardoisière S. the oldest mine of Or of France gives 2 tons of gold today per annum, 3,4 tons of Argent, 1.000 tons of Cuivre and a few thousands of tons of Arsenic. The mining of this zone is extremely old: the Romans extracted there already from the Fer, the Cuivre and the Plomb.

External bonds

the Community of communes located in Black mountain
Geology of the Black mountain
In Black Mountain: Hydrant of Alzeau source of the Channel of the South
Black Mountain in Photographs
the site of association Villages perched in Black Mountain

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