Cap Leucate

The Sémaphore du Cap Leucate is located on the Cap Leucate of the same name

View of the lighthouse (Phare du Cap Leucate)

Cap Leucate is a cape on the French Mediterranean coast . It is located on the Golfe du Lion , on the outskirts of the municipality of Leucate in the Aude department .

The Cap Leucate (French: Le Cap Leucate) is a toponym for the southeastern drop of the Corbières maritimes into the Mediterranean . In a narrower sense, it refers to the Cap Leucate on which the Sémaphore , a maritime traffic control center of the French Navy, called "Sémaphore du Cap Leucate" and the lighthouse of Cap Leucate are located. In the broader geographical understanding, the entire coastline of the Leucate peninsula between the districts of La Franqui and Leucate Plage of the municipality of Leucate is called Cap Leucate .

Geographical and biogeographical feature of Cap Leucate

geomorphology

The Cap Leucate is between the mouth of the Rhône ( Camargue ) and the Côte Vermeille , the only cliff in the coastal area of the Occitania region . The Cap Leucate is mainly formed by Pliocene lacustric limestone, which is more than 40 meters thick. These pending Pliocene limestones, which drop steeply at Cap Leucate (here in the extended scenic sense) into the Mediterranean Sea (approx. 40 - 60 m), form a spectacular cliff that is unique in Languedoc-Roussillon.

biogeography

Blooming Barlia robertiana on the Cap Leucate

The Cap Leucate is characterized by a special biogeographical value. There are many thermo- Mediterranean plant species such as Olea oleaster , Pistacia lentiscus, which are otherwise relatively rare in the Mediterranean Languedoc, but dominate and shape the landscape at Cap Leucate. Furthermore, the Cap Leucate is known for its abundance of orchids, some of which already bloom in early February. In addition, from mid-March you can find numerous dwarf iris species , especially the collective species Iris lutescens and its subspecies and daffodils . Another special feature of Cap Leucate is that it delimits the driest area of France in the south. Between Port-la-Nouvelle and Cap Leucate, the long-term average rainfall is only 374 mm. This makes the Cap Leucate one of the driest European landscapes. Finally, it should be pointed out that the abundance of flora in Cap Leucate is endangered both by tourism (footfall damage) and by increasing bush cover .

Parts of the area lie in the Regional Nature Park Narbonnaise en Méditerranée .

Individual evidence

↑ (P 2 Pliocène moyen. Calcaires lacustres) Berger, GM: Carte géologique de la France a 1 / 50,000 - Notice Expilicative de la Feuille Leucate a 1 / 50,000, 1982, Orleans, p. 19.
↑ Berger, GM: Carte géologique de la France a 1 / 50,000 - Notice Expilicative de la Feuille Leucate a 1 / 50,000, 1982, Orleans, p. 26.

[1] (P 2 Pliocène moyen. Calcaires lacustres) Berger, GM: Carte géologique de la France a 1 / 50,000 - Notice Expilicative de la Feuille Leucate a 1 / 50,000, 1982, Orleans, p. 19.

[2] Berger, GM: Carte géologique de la France a 1 / 50,000 - Notice Expilicative de la Feuille Leucate a 1 / 50,000, 1982, Orleans, p. 26.