The organs of Illes-sur-Têt: the fairy chimneys

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“In the Têt valley, come and discover an exceptional magical landscape with changing colors and luminosity: the Organs of Illes-sur-Têt.

The visit of Organs of Illes-sur-Tet comes in the form of a walk about 45 minutes. It leads you into the very interior of this work of nature. The name Organ comes from the analogy of the pipes of the musical instrument.

Say " fairy chimneys » or « Damsels Coiffées » these natural structures are at the origin of many beliefs and legends. In the United States, as in Canada, we speak of " Hoodies (in reference to hoodoo / voodoo practices) by attributing magical powers to these rock forms.

It is a unique landscape with colorful reliefs that water has sculpted for 5 million years in clays and sands deposited by the Mediterranean Sea and the Têt River. They are rocky geological structures made up of different superimposed sedimentary layers. They consist of sand and relatively friable alluvium. Their summit is a harder rocky element. Much more resistant, this helmet then protects the friable layers below from erosion. In the surroundings, these layers will have disappeared over time carried away by rainwater and wind.

We thus find similar sites: in Canada in the province of Alberta, in the United States in the National Park of Bryce Canyon, in Turkey in the Cappadocia region, and more locally, in France near the Serre-Ponçon lake, at the foot of Mont-Ventoux in the Baux de Bédoin, or in Rustrel.

This exceptional heritage was classified as being of general interest in 1981 under “natural monuments and sites of an artistic, historical, scientific, legendary or picturesque nature”.

SOURCES

http://orgues.netinfo.pro/
http://orgues.netinfo.pro/les-coulisses-des-orgues/genese-d-un-paysage.html