The Ochre Cliffs & Trails
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Roussillon, which sits on the world's largest known ochre deposit, was Europe's capital for ochre production until World War II. The value of Roussillon's ochre cliffs was known in Roman times. Once excavated, the clay ochre was rinsed with water to separate it from sand, and bricks of it were dried and baked for deeper hues. The procedure for extracting the ochre did not change much over 2,000 years ~ until the ochre mining became industrialized in the late 1700s.
The vivid greens of the pines highlight the lurid reds, yellows and oranges of fantastical rock forms shaped both by erosion and by recent quarrying.
A brillant orange path leads through the richly colored ochre canyon ~
but beware: light-colored clothing can be stained!
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Click here for photos of the village of Bonnieux.
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