DEPARTMENTAL DOMAIN OF SAVIGNAC

The river Orb makes a wide curve when you reach the plain. Except during heavy rains, its fiery character calms down at the exit of the gorges located further upstream. It now flows quietly until it meets the Mediterranean. Impossible not to see, at the entrance of the site, strange mounds or pyramid-shaped hollows. These are "gabions" (pebbles encircled with wire mesh), witnesses to the bank protection and stabilization work begun in the 1980s. The tons of multicoloured rock fragments under your feet come from the geological formations upstream. They were carried and then accumulated over thousands of years by the Orb to form a pebble terrace. It is during this "aquatic" journey that the angular stones have blunted, some of them becoming flat and round enough to ricochet off the water. The gravel bank, which is located between the water and the vegetation, does not allow the vegetation to settle permanently, as it is constantly reworked during floods. It thus provides an open space favourable to certain animals. As early as spring, you will be able to observe numerous dragonflies, including the superb gomphs, with black and yellow stripes. The little gravelly hawk also takes advantage of the place to hide its eggs, which look surprisingly like pebbles.

How do I get there? From Béziers, take the RD 14 towards Cazoul-lès-Béziers. In Cazouls-lès-Béziers, follow the RD 16 in the direction of Murviel-lès-Béziers as far as the Gaston Doumergue bridge and turn left before the bridge on the sloping dirt track leading to the car park.