Volx rocks

The Volx Rocks correspond to a large anticlinal fold (an arched fold), which exposes the ancient rocks that outcrop further east in the Grand Luberon.

This anticlinal structure is highly eroded in its center and is carved by two large valleys, Sarzen and Margaridètes, which reveal its marly core. Erosion here is spectacular, with intense gullying in the soft marls. The Fontamaurri stream (source of the Fontaines) emerges at the contact with a fault. Due to this fracture, natural black and viscous bitumen sometimes seeps to the surface.

The southern flank of the anticlinal, which overlooks the village, forms a cliff with numerous caves, where a climbing school has been established. This wall is not composed of massive limestone, as was long believed, but of “megabreccias,” which are angular blocks of limestone ranging in size from centimeters to several meters, consolidated by a limestone cement. The patina gives the whole structure a uniform appearance. Their formation is directly related to the activity of the Moyenne Durance Fault and results from successive landslides from a cliff that was located where the current Valensole plateau is.