The felsenmeer (block field) of Nîmes-le-Vieux

The felsenmeer (block field) of Nîmes-le-Vieux is a ruiniform site located in the north-eastern part of the Causse Méjean, in the central zone of the Cévennes National Park. It was given its name in 1908 by its discoverer Paul Arnal, pastor of Vébron, by analogy with the felsenmeer of Montpellier-le-Vieux, a similar site discovered 25 years earlier by Edouard-Alfred Martel.

For millennia, erosion has been sculpting strange and fantastical shapes out of the dolomitic limestone. This felsenmeer of ruiniform rocks has been carved into the limestone by water, frost, sun and wind.

It is accessible via the col du Perjuret between Florac and Meyrueis. An educational footpath (set up by the National Park in association with the landowners) crosses the felsenmeer between l’Hom and Gally, starting from Veygalier on the Causse Méjean. Depending on your inspiration, you may see in the felsenmeer Gargantua’s cooking pot, a lion, or else the amphitheatre of a mysterious town.