earth science

Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve

Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve rather than just read about it. In short: The Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve (RNN73) is a national nature reserve in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Established in 1984, it covers 269.316 hectares (665.49 acres) across 18 sites in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var.

Key takeaways

Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve (RNN73) is a national nature reserve in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Established in 1984, it covers 269.316 hectares (665.49 acres) across 18 sites in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var. Located between the Verdon and Durance rivers, it is an area designated for its landscape diversity, witness of the geological past of the Earth, and is the largest geological reserve in Europe.

Location The domain of the nature reserve spreads across 18 sites bearing fossils and outcrops with a total area of 269.316 hectares (665.49 acres), in the communes of Barles, Barrême, Chaudon-Norante, Clumanc, Digne-les-Bains, Entrages, Hautes-Duyes, La Javie, La Robine-sur-Galabre, Saint-Lions, Senez and Tartonne. It is completed by a protection area which regulates fossil collections, spreading across 52 communes in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and 7 in Var. The total territory of the protected area covers more than 2,300 km2 (890 mi2) and covers the communes of Aiglun, Angles, Archail, Authon, Auzet, Barles, Barras, Barrême, Beaujeu, Beynes, Blieux, Bras-d'Asse, Le Brusquet, Castellane, Le Castellard-Mélan, Le Chaffaut-Saint-Jurson, Champtercier, Châteauredon, Chaudon-Norante, Clumanc, Digne-les-Bains, Draix, Entrages, Estoublon, Hautes-Duyes, La Javie, Lambruisse, Majastres, Mallemoisson, Marcoux, Mézel, Mirabeau, Montclar, Moriez, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, La Palud-sur-Verdon, Prads-Haute-Bléone, La Robine-sur-Galabre, Rougon, Saint-André-les-Alpes, Saint-Geniez, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Julien-d'Asse, Saint-Lions, Selonnet, Senez, Seyne, Tartonne, Thoard, Verdaches, Vergons and Le Vernet in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Bargème, Brenon, Le Bourguet, Châteauvieux, Comps-sur-Artuby, La Martre and Trigance in Var.

History

130 million years ago, giant ammonites more than one metre (3.3 ft) wide colonized the ocean that then covered this area of the Préalpes.

Geologic patrimony Those fossils can be discovered either in the Musée Promenade at Digne-les-Bains, or in situ in the folded and fractured layers of geological sites. The most famous site is the Dalle à ammonites, on the RP 900 at 1.5 km (0.93 mi) north of Digne-les-Bains. With a 60° incline, it bears over 1,500 ammonites, 90% of which belong to the species Coroniceras multicostatum from the Sinemurian (Early Jurassic). Those ammonites could attain a diameter of 70 cm (28 in). Remains of nautilus, belemnites, Pecten and other bivalves can also be seen. The deposit thickness is estimated to be around 20 cm (7.9 in), laid down over a 100,000-year period.

The La Robine ichthyosaur, displayed in the Digne museum, lived during the late Toarcian, 185 millions of years ago. This marine reptile was quickly buried, which limited its decomposition. Its conservation is due to paleogeographic conditions favouring the tilting of blocks, caused by the rifting following the opening of the Piemont-Liguria Ocean.

At Castellane, the museum of the Maison Nature et Patrimoine takes visitors back for the last 40 millions of years. At that time a warm sea covered this part of the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence and was populated with marine mammals such as sirenians. Also known as sea cows, as they mostly eat algae and aquatic plants, they gave birth to the ancient myth of mermaids.

Touristic and educational interest The museum of Castellane, Sisteron and Digne-les-Bains offers marked discovery tours, accessible to anyone.

Administration, management plan, regulations

Once managed by the Association pour la gestion de la réserve géologique de Haute Provence, established in 1984, the nature reserve is now under the management of the Departmental Council of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Regulations forbid the collection and extraction of any fossils. The collection of naturally released fossils is tolerated, but only in limited quantities. It is designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark, in the Global Geoparks Network, and it was one of the four founding members of the European Geoparks Network.

Tools and legal status The nature reserve was established under a decree dated 31 October 1984.

References

External links Official website Géologique de Haute-Provence, Réserves naturelles de France Réserve naturelle nationale géologique de Haute-Provence, Agence de Développement des Alpes de Haute Provence Réserve géologique de Haute-Provence, Maison Nature Patrimoines

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve

In research: Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Europe, Geography of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve in simple terms?

Why does Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Géologique de Haute-Provence National Nature Reserve.