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The Déôme valley

Slopes of Pilat

These southern slopes of Pilat, near the Ardèche and the Haut-Loire, are positioned around the Déôme valley, a long geological fault which separates the Massif du Pilat from the Boutières mountain chain.

Pine-woods

Large pine-woods and beech groves cover the highlands and the north-facing slopes, while the grasslands and leafy copses alternate between the best exposed slopes and the dales. The fir rubs elbows with the beech while the Scots pine occupies the less favourable soils left behind by agriculture.

Hydrolic energy

Since the 18th century, the hydrographic network has enabled the establishment of textile mills using waterpower in villages such as Bourg-Argental and Saint-Julien-Molin-Molette, where the industrial architecture represents a distinctive heritage.