Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc

Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc, in the Ardèche, peaks at 1,551 metres' altitude. It is a phonolite dome, formed about eight million years ago, in the Miocene, by the accumulation of very viscous lava at a volcanic chimney. Erosion cleared this mass of rock, hence its conical shape and characteristic rock prisms.

At the foot of the mount are the sources of the Loire, the longest river in France. The site, protected since 1933 over about 280 hectares, receives more than 400,000 visitors a year, which makes it one of the busiest tourist sites in the Ardèche after the gorges. Protected plants, notably saxifrages and sundews, are found there. The climb is made in about thirty minutes by a free path. A site house, opened in 2017, offers exhibitions and information panels on the natural heritage.

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