abandoned mine works / mine abandonnéeThis circuit starting from Maussane-les-Alpilles winds along quiet streets and through a golf course in the shadow of the fortress of Les Baux-de-Provence before passing by remnants of the bauxite mining industry. Bauxite was first discovered in the area around 1820 and from 1850 industrial methods to extract extract aluminium from bauxite became available. Several mines were in operation around the village of Les Baux-de-Provence and until 1939, France was the world’s largest single producer of bauxite. The name bauxite, of course, derives from the village name les “Baux”. Nowadays the mines are abandoned and in at least one case, flooded, but satellite images make it fairly easy to see where the mines were : the barren landscapes are tinted ocre red. Along this walking route there is a small mine gallery entrance, probably the result of exploratory digging. The largest bauxite mine site is near Mas Rouge (not near this route). However near the above-mentioned gallery entrance, there are 2 large abandoned bauxite quarries (too dangerous to visit).
Other curiosities include strange erosion forms in limestone cliff faces, and the tower at the château d’Escanin as well as the imposing fortess of les Baux, visible to the north for much of the time on this walk.
abandoned mine works / mine abandonnée
le baou trouca / erosion forms
almond trees in flower / fleurs d’amandier
un mas provençal
un hôtel-restaurant célèbre
le baou trouca / erosion forms
Maps
Total distance: 11334 m Max elevation: 124 m Min elevation: 21 m Total climbing: 314 m Total descent: -312 m Average speed: 4.14 km/h Total time: 03:50:12
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
You can adjust cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookies must be enabled at all times to permit the site to function properly.
These cookies include a cookie to record your language preference, cookies to permit the use of Google maps programming interfaces and maps, and cookies to permit the use of OpenStreetMap maps on this site.
If you disable these cookies, we will not be able to remember your language preferences.
3rd Party Cookies
This website uses the Matomo web analytics platform to measure site activity. Matomo places cookies in your browser to collect information such as visitor language, device type, time and duration of visit, pages viewed, downloads etc. None of this data can identify you personally. The collected data is retained on a server located in France, owned and operated by the owner of this website. The collected data is not used for advertising and is not shared with third parties.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!