Cassis
Trip Start
May 20, 2008
1
58
73
Trip End
Sep 15, 2008
Cassis, Provence, France
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I took a fantastic 90 minute boat tour of the calenques which are like mini-fjords. The scenery was just magnificent. The highest cliffs on the Mediterranean are here along with caves, archs and other incredible rock formations. My descriptions will not do justice to the area so I'll just let you see the photos. My camera is on its last legs from when I dropped it so the quality of the photos is not great, but Cassis definitely is!
PS I have inserted the Wikipedia entries for Cassis and calenques (spelled both ways) below.
Cassis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Population²
(1999) 8,001
- Density 298/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
Cassis (IPA: [kasi]) is a commune situated east of Marseille in the administrative department of the Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. It is a popular tourist destination,[1] famous for its cliffs (falaises) and the sheltered inlets called calanques. The wines of Cassis are white and rosé, and not to be confused with crème de cassis, a specialty of Burgundy which takes its name from black currants (cassis), not the commune.
[edit] Geography
The town is situated on the Mediterranean coast, about 20 km (12.4 mi) east of Marseille. Cap Canaille (394 metres, 1203 feet), between Cassis and La Ciotat ("the civitas") is one of the highest maritime bluffs in Europe, a sailor's landmark for millennia.
[edit] History
The site where Cassis now sits was first occupied between 500 and 600 BC by the Ligures, who constructed a fortified habitation at the top of the Baou Redon. These people lived by fishing, hunting, and by farming.
The link with Massilia (Marseille)[citation needed], a city founded by the Phoceans, means that the current site of Cassis could have been inhabited by the ancient Greeks, though no proof has yet been found.
During the Roman times, Cassis was part of the maritime route made by the Emperor Antoninus Pius. At this time, the port advanced right up to Baragnon. It was a small village, established mainly around the Arena and Corton beaches. The principal livelihood was fishing and maritime trade with North Africa and the Middle-East. Several archaeological discoveries attest to this[citation needed].
From the 5th to the 10th century, invasions by the barbarians[weasel words] led the population to seek refuge in the castrum, a fortified city that, in 1223, became the property of the Seigneurie des Baux de Provence.
In the 15th century, Cassis was ceded to the Counts of Provence, then King René gave the town to the Bishops of Marseille, who ruled the town until the Revolution of 1789.
In the 18th century, Cassis started to develop outside the ramparts of the fortified city and around the port. After the Restoration, new industries developed here, including the drying of cod, the manufacture of olive oil and clothing, coral work, wine-making and the exploitation of local stone (cement, limestone). Indeed, the Stone of Cassis, which was quarried here since antiquity made the town famous. The masonry for the quays of the large Mediterranean ports (Alexandria, Algiers, Piraeus, Marseille, Port Said) originated from Cassis[citation needed], as well as the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Today, the stone is used for more domestic purposes: pile (the Provençal word for a sink)[clarify], swimming pool etc.[weasel words]
In the 20th century, as these industries began to disappear, the workforce turned to tourism and wine making. Cassis was one of the first three vineyards to profit from the appellation d'origine contrôlée (label of controlled origin) introduced in 1936.
Calanque
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Calanque de Sugiton (note the tourist boat entering it).A calanque (from the Corsican word of preindoeuropean origin calanca (plural calanche) with meaning "inlet"; Occitan calanca too) is a geologic formation in the form of a deep valley with steep sides, typically of limestone, in part submerged by the sea. It can be considered a Mediterranean fjord.
[edit] Location
The best known examples of this formation can be found in the Massif des Calanques (Massís dei calancas in Occitan, the local language) in the Bouches-du-Rhône département of France. This range extends for 20 km in length and 4 km in width along the coast between Marseille and Cassis, culminating in Marseilleveyre (432 m) and Mont Puget (565 m). Similar calanques can also be found on the French riviera near Estérel and on the island of Corsica (see Calanches de Piana). Similarities are seen between calanques, and rias, the river mouths formed along the coast of Brittany in Northern France.
[edit] Geology
Calanques are actually remains of ancient river mouths formed mostly during Tertiary. Later, during quaternary glaciations, as glaciers swept by, they further deepened those valleys which would eventually (at the end of the last glaciation) be invaded with sea and become calanques.
Their composition can greatly vary depending on their location:
Marseille calanques are formed from tertiary limestone.
Cassis calanques are formed from secondary era rocks deposited by rudist molluscos, before the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event.
[edit] Ecosystem
The calanques have a particular ecosystem, as soil is almost non-existent there, and the limestone cliffs instead contain numerous cracks into which the roots of plants are anchored. In places where cliffs are less vertical, their vegetation is a classical Mediterranean maquis, typically consisting of densely-growing evergreen shrubs such as sage, juniper and myrtle. It is similar to heath in many aspects, but with taller shrubs, typically 2-4 m high as opposed to 0.2-1 m for heath.
Like anywhere on Mediterranean coast, Calanques' climate is arid, with any moisture coming only from evaporation of the sea. This xericity associated with the salt spray conditions the subsistence of an adapted vegetation.
The calanques also shelter rabbits, foxes, large crows and the Bonelli eagle, as well as many reptiles and wild boars.
[edit] Tourism
The calanques between Marseille and Cassis are popular amongst tourists and locals alike, offering several vantage points (such as the Corniche des Crêtes and Cap Canaille) allowing spectacular panoramas. A great number of hikers frequent the area, following numerous pre-marked trails. The cliffs are also used as training spots for rock climbers. However, this excessive use has posed problems of potential damage to this delicate microhabitat.
Most of the calanques are also closed to the public during the summer (typically July through September) due to the risks of forest fire that often happen during the dry season.
The best time to visit calanques is probably March through May, when temperatures are still quite fresh and, unlike autumn and winter, rain is usually quite rare. As no fresh water sources are available in the calanques, it is advised to carry large supplies of water, especially during the hot summer to prevent serious dehydration.
Boat tours are also available starting either from Marseille, Cassis or La Ciotat, which can provide for some spectacular sightseeing.
