Photo : Torsade de Pointes / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Cascade de la Baume
The Baume (or Beaume) waterfall is a fall of about 27 metres in Haute-Loire, on the boundary of the communes of Solignac-sur-Loire and Le Brignon, at nearly 900 metres' altitude, not far from the village of Agizoux. The water throws itself from the top of a basalt cliff, the edge of the volcanic Devès plateau, before joining the Loire.
Its name comes from the Latin word balma, meaning a cave: at the foot of the cliff, rock shelters were occupied in prehistoric times. The site is surrounded by the Agizoux forest, where maritime pines grow, rare at this altitude, and field elms, survivors of a species decimated by disease.
A local legend tells that a girl from the castle, driven mad after seeing the reflection of a demon in the water, threw herself into the waterfall with a young shepherd who had gone in search of her. The Virgin is said to have slowed their fall, the girl recovered and the couple married. You can watch the fall from a small roadside area or approach it on foot from Agizoux.
