This is a website about the geology of the Aude Valley in the Campagne sur Aude area. It was constructed by Romain Liard when he was a SOCRATES-ERASMUS exchange student at Oxford Brookes University in 2003.
The upper Cretaceous constitutes the major part of the geology of the upper Aude Valley. Most of the formations express an emergent event, part of a complete sedimentary cycle which occurs from the Albian to the Maastrichtian in this region. These formations can be grouped into two major types in terms of depositional environment: first, formations corresponding to large fluviatile continental systems and secondly formations corresponding to pedogenetic features or palaeosol. These types of environments are obvious features to identify but complex to interpret.
View of the Upper Aude Valley from the Dinosaur quarry of Bellevue ( looking from Campagne sur Aude toward the South).
Geological sketch map of the Upper Aude Valley (after BRGM sheet 1077 -
Quillan)
Now, to begin a virtual field trip tothe geology of the Upper Aude Valley, choose between the stratigraphic cross-section - on the left - and the stratigraphic column -on the right- :
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If you want direct access to one of the formations described in this site:
- The Upper Red Marl
- The Vignevieille Limestone and Clay
- The Maurine Red Marl
- The Estous Sandstone
- The Campagne Red Marl
- The Alet Sandstone