The Fontchaude spring

This constant-temperature spring lies between the Clues de Barles and Péouré, at the heart of the Haute-Provence Geopark.
The Fontchaude spring owes its name to the fact that it doesn’t freeze in winter. In summer, its water pleasantly refreshes walkers. Its fairly constant temperature is due to a long, deep journey through a karstic (underground) network. The water is thus protected from outside temperature variations, and then emerges into the open air through a fault that acts like a drain. The spring gushes out at the foot of a large limestone bar streaked with marl layers. Here, the landscape tells the story of nearly 300 million years of earth history, and several classified sites of the National Geological Nature Reserve have been identified and developed.
In the Haute-Provence Geopark, several other springs are fed by limestone: the Saint-Benoît spring at the heart of the Promenade Museum in Digne-les-Bains, and the Chanolles spring in Prads-Haute-Bléone.