les Sources de la Touvre

The Touvre springs, near Angoulême, in the Charente, form the second largest resurgence in France. The average annual flow is about 13 cubic metres per second, with variations from 7 m³/s in September to 17.6 m³/s in February.

The site includes four outflows: the Bouillant, the Dormant, the Font de Lussac and the Lèche. The first three appear under castle ruins, and the Lèche emerges 600 metres further south. Fluorescein dye tests have shown that the water comes mostly from the losses of the Bandiat and the Tardoire, two rivers that disappear underground. A thick layer of impermeable marl, about 500 metres thick, forces the water to rise at this spot. Divers have explored the underground conduits to 197 metres, in the Font de Lussac. The paths around the rocky cirque let you admire the pools.

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