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Photographer’s Note

A small track going down the Caroux Mountain, near Saint Martin de L'Arçon, in the Haut Languedoc National Park. These kind of paths, were currently directly dug in the stone and are called here "drailles". They were used by shepherds to get from the villages (in the valleys) to the mountain pastures in summer. On the left side of the picture, one can see chestnut trees that are traditionnaly grown in this area, and on the right and on the background hills the holm oaks that are characteristic of mediterranean vegetation.
Just take a look at the rocks outcropping on the path. These are gneisses, i.e., rocks formed by the intense deformation of granitic domes during the formation of mountain ranges (here the Hercynian range). As granites, they are constituted mainly by quartz, Feldspar and Biotite/Muscovite (Micaceous minerals), but their texture shows very nice layers called foliations, due to the deformation.

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Additional Photos by Loic Bazalgette (bazal) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2244 W: 117 N: 2355] (7898)
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