At an altitude of 793 m., in the heart of the Haute-Provence Geopark, the perched village of Beynes offers an exceptional panorama of the Asse valley and tells the story of the Earth.
The village rises above the Asse valley, in the heart of the Montdenier massif. Its occupation dates back to prehistoric times, and the village has often been tested over the centuries. It was not spared the terrible rural exodus of past centuries, but it has survived and is still inhabited.
The Beynes panorama can be broken down into four major geological units. The first is made up of deformed Tertiary and Quaternary formations, but still in their original environment: these are conglomerates and sandstones, completely straightened vertically during the uplift of the Alps. The next three units are made up of allochthonous (displaced from their place of deposition) terrain dating from the Secondary Era: the Beynes mountain, the Suy summit and the Cousson. These peaks mark the overlapping front of the Digne nappe.
