The Pas de l’échelle panorama tells the story of the Earth’s long history. It is one of the emblematic landscapes of the Haute-Provence Geopark, as beautiful as it is instructive and inspiring.
The local geological history is marked by a succession of marine periods, the surrection of the Alps and strong erosion. The panorama of the Pas de l’Echelle allows you to “spot” major clues to this evolution. Here you’ll find information to help you visualize the geological phenomena and understand the landscape. You’ll learn why the Pène syncline is U-shaped, and how the Grand Adroit and Montagne de Saint-Laurent bear witness to the formation of the Alps. You’ll learn that geology can be mischievous, slipping in terrain from different eras and confusing the trail. You can “follow” two major faults: the Aix fault and the Hungarian Rock fault. Further on, you’ll see the highly eroded terrain of the Digne nappe (Malaup summit) and beyond that, the Baronnies and Dévoluy, then the peaks of the crystalline Ecrins massif.