Alabaster Coast

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cliff between Étretat and Fécamp
Between Yport and Étretat
North-east of Fécamp at Cape Fagnet
Alabaster coast near Dieppe
View of Le Tréport

The Alabaster Coast ( French La Côte d'Albâtre ) is the coast of the French region of Normandy . The name comes from the alabaster-colored steep cliffs (chalk cliffs) that are over a hundred meters high and only occasionally are broken through by a valley cut that extends to the sea (French: Valleuse).

location

The 120 km long alabaster coast stretches from Le Havre at the mouth of the Seine to the northeast to behind Le Tréport on the border with the Picardy region . It forms part of the French coast on the English Channel . Distinctive geographical points are Cape Fagnet and Cape d'Antifer .

The main towns along the Alabaster Coast are Le Havre , Fécamp , Dieppe and Le Tréport . Unusual attractions are the rock formations around Étretat and Yport , such as Porte d'Amont , Porte d'Aval , Aiguille d'Etretat , Manneporte , Pointe de la Courtine and Pointe du Fourquet . There are also impressive beaches such as Plage du Tilleul and the Valleuse de Jambourg . There are also caves in the chalk cliffs, such as Trou à l'Homme or Chambre des Demoiselles .

geology

The chalk cliffs made of lime and chalk emerged over millions of years as sediments from microorganisms. About two million years ago, movements in the earth's crust caused the formation to rise, so that today they rise up to about 100 meters above sea level. The coastline is interrupted by the valley cuts called Valleuse. They were created as a cut in watercourses in the last ice age between 90,000 and 12,000 before the beginning of our era, when the sea level was particularly low, still well below today's level.

history

On the Alabaster Coast, pebbles were collected commercially over long periods of time in order to use them as aggregate for concrete , for the production of sandpaper , as a chemical additive or for the production of varnishes and paints. The stock of pebbles was reduced by half. The previous function as a breakwater was impaired, which led to increased erosion of the coast. In 1975 the extraction of the pebbles was stopped. Collecting the pebbles is prohibited today.

The alabaster coast is a frequent motif of artists due to its scenic charm. The painters Eugène Boudin , Camille Corot Gustave Courbet , Eugène Delacroix , Eugène Isabey , Eugène Lepoittevin , Claude Monet and Félix Vallotton created many works with motifs from the alabaster coast. The poet Guy de Maupassant also frequented here.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alabaster Coast  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Françoise Foucher, Étretat , Éditions d'Art Jack, Louannec, June 2018, ISBN 978-2-37773-037-7 , page 2 f.
  2. ^ Françoise Foucher, Étretat , Éditions d'Art Jack, Louannec, June 2018, ISBN 978-2-37773-037-7 , page 4 f.

Coordinates: 49 ° 46 ′ 0 ″  N , 0 ° 22 ′ 0 ″  E