earth science

Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve

Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve rather than just read about it. In short: The Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve (RNN62) is a geological national nature reserve in Gironde. Established in 1982 with an area of 75.5 hectares (187 acres), it protects six sites bearing outcrops of solidified shell sand or faluns.

Key takeaways

Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve (RNN62) is a geological national nature reserve in Gironde. Established in 1982 with an area of 75.5 hectares (187 acres), it protects six sites bearing outcrops of solidified shell sand or faluns. It also includes the stratotype for the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages.

Location

It is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the Gironde department, over the communes of Saucats and La Brède 20 km (12 mi) south of Bordeaux and in the heart of the Landes forest. It includes six sites divided ito three geographic sectors, and covers a total area of 75.5 hectares (187 acres).

History of the site and reserve Belonging to the Aquitaine Basin, this site bears an important series of deposits from the Cenozoic era, in the shape of outcrops. Those can be seen particularly on the banks of two streams: the Saucats (or St Jean d'Étampes) and its tributary the Brousteyrot. Some of those outcrops served as basis for the description of the Aquitanian stratotype (established by Charles Mayer in 1858) and the Burdigalian stratotype (established by Charles Depéret in 1892). Those were regularly studied by paleontologists for nearly a century (including Benoist, Degrange-Touzin, Cossmann, Peyrot, and Daguin) and exploited by various collectors until the creation of the nature reserve. In 1980 the Association pour la Réserve Géologique de Saucats - La Brède was established to protect this patrimony and to open it up. The nature reserve was established in 1982 under ministerial order. It was the first geological reserve in France.

Ecology (biodiversity, ecological interest, etc.) The principal interest of this site is geological. Most of the stages can be seen across the narrow streams in small glens; they include interesting biotes.

Geology

The reserve includes three Cenozoic stages (Neogene, Miocene); Aquitanian (23 to 20.5 Ma); Burdigalian (20.5 to 16.4 Ma); and Serravallian (14.8 to 11.2 Ma).

Flora Riparian forests include the common alder, the yellow flag, and the marsh-marigold. The Bernachon site exhibits a large diversity of bryophytes.

Fauna The sites are frequented by the European mink, the common genet, the common kingfisher and the grey wagtail. Among the local amphibians, the fire salamander and the marbled newt can be found.

Touristic and educational interest Apart from the Reserve House, the most important areas of the nature reserve are: the "musées de site" (open-air showcases or amenaged cliffs) of Bernachon and L'Ariey for the Aquitanian stage; Péloua, la Bourasse and Pont-Pourquey (Burdigalian); and Lassime (Serravallian).

Administration, management plan, regulations The nature reserve gestion is under responsibility of the Association de gestion de la réserve géologique de Saucats et La Brède.

Tools and legal status The nature reserve was established under decree of 5 September 1982.

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve

In research: Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Europe, Geography of Gironde, Geologic formations of France, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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.

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How to study Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Géologique de Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve in simple terms?

Why does Géologique de Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède 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 Saucats et La Brède National Nature Reserve.