Creux du Van
The Creux du Van [ kʀødyˌvɑ ] is a Kar in the Swiss Jura on the border between the cantons of Neuchâtel and Vaud .
It is about 1200 meters wide and 500 meters deep. The total length of the rock walls, which drop vertically around 160 meters, is around four kilometers. The area is at Mont Soliat at 1200 to 1450 m above sea level. M. It has been under protection since 1972 and is part of the federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments of national importance .
The cauldron was probably created by erosion after the Würm glacial period . The ground is covered with moraine and landslide material on which fir and beech trees grow. In the middle under the above unwooded part of the basin lies the Fontaine Froide spring , whose water is evenly 4 ° C cold all year round.
Ibex and chamois live on the rock faces . In 1770 the last bear was shot in the area of Creux-du-Van . In 1974 and 1975 a pair of lynx was released . The lynx were caught in the wild from the Slovak Carpathians .
The geologically and botanically valuable area is also a popular excursion destination, which is best reached on foot from Noiraigue . By car you can get to the Ferme du Soliat restaurant at the top of the cirque via Couvet or Saint-Aubin-Sauges .
An approximately two-kilometer-long dry stone wall was built on the unwooded upper edge of the basin to replace a less aesthetic wire mesh fence. The wall was built free of charge by an international group and is therefore also called the Wall of Friendship .
Panorama picture
Creux du Van in August 2007
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '11 " N , 6 ° 43' 25.8" E ; CH1903: five hundred forty-five thousand five hundred and seventy-one / 198615