Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park

Logo of the park

Location of the park

The Regional Natural Park Normandie-Maine ( fr. Regional Nature Park Normandie-Maine ) is located in the French department Manche and Orne in the region of Normandy and Mayenne and Sarthe in the region Pays de la Loire .

The park extends roughly between the following places:

Argentan in the north,
Mamers in the east,
Évron in the south and
Mortain-Bocage to the west.

The Perche Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Perche ) connects to the east .

Park management

Maison du Parc in Carrouges

The nature park was founded on October 23, 1975 and today covers an area of around 257,600 hectares. The park administration with the "Maison du Parc" is based in Carrouges ( 48 ° 33 '48 " N , 0 ° 9' 1" W, coordinates: 48 ° 33 '48 " N , 0 ° 9' 1" W ). 138 municipalities (as of January 1, 2018) with a catchment area of around 92,000 inhabitants form the park, another 14 municipalities are associated with the nature park as "access points". 48.563333333333 -0.15027777777778

Larger places in the park

In the Orne department

In the Mayenne department

In the Sarthe department

Place Leclerc in La Ferté-Macé
Town hall of Sées
View of the town of Ambrières-les-Vallées
Lassay Castle in Lassay-les-Châteaux
Castle and church of Sillé-le-Guillaume
Trinity church of Roullée, municipality of Villeneuve-en-Perseigne

landscape

The nature park in the border area between Normandy and the Pays de la Loire is geologically located in the transition zone of the Armorican Massif and the Paris Basin . This also results in different land forms and land uses . While the western part has a very tranquil, rural character, the eastern part, especially in the area around Alençon - which itself does not belong to the area of the nature park - is more economically used. Characteristic of the huge park area are its bocage , forest and orchard landscapes, crossed by rivers and lakes as well as swamp , heather and raised bog landscapes. Particularly noteworthy are the large contiguous forest areas Forêt des Andaines and Forêt d'Écouves , in the vicinity of which the largest elevations of the nature park are located. In the southern section of the area are the Alpes Mancelles with their stony, wooded steep slopes.

Pear trees are often planted on the orchards of the area , the harvest of which is used in the traditional way to produce pear cider ( French: Poiré ), a special variety of the common apple cider . In Barenton there is the Musée de Poiré , which is specifically dedicated to this topic.

Highest elevations

Mont des Avaloirs (416 m) ( 48 ° 27 ′ 2 ″ N , 0 ° 8 ′ 40 ″ W )48.450555555556 -0.14444444444444
Signal d'Écouves (413 m) ( 48 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ N , 0 ° 2 ′ 3 ″ E )48.55 0.034166666666667
Butte Chaumont (378 m) ( 48 ° 28 ′ 50 ″ N , 0 ° 1 ′ 37 ″ W )48.480555555556 -0.026944444444444

Larger forest areas

Forêt de Mortain, east of Mortain
Forêt des Andaines, near Bagnoles-de-l'Orne
Forêt d'Écouves, near Fontenai-les-Louvets (today: L'Orée-d'Écouves )
Forêt de Perseigne, south of Villeneuve-en-Perseigne
Forêt de Sillé, north of Sillé-le-Guillaume

River valleys

Catchment area in the upper reaches of the Orne , in the north, with the tributaries
- Sennevière ,
- Thouane ,
- Baize and
- Cance .
Catchment area in the upper reaches of the Sarthe , in the east and south, with the tributaries
- Vézone ,
- Briante ,
- Sarthon ,
- Merdereau ,
- Vaudelle and
- Orthe .
Catchment area in the upper reaches of the Mayenne , in the center and in the south, with the tributaries
- Aisne ,
- Gourbe ,
- Vée and
- Varenne
Catchment area in the upper reaches of the Sélune , in the west, with the tributaries
- Rivière de Saint-Jean and
- Cance .