Friday 20 June 2014
A calanque
(from the Corsican and Occitan words of pre-Indo-European origin calanca) is a steep-walled inlet,
cove, or bay that is developed in limestone, dolomite, or other carbonate strata
and found along the Mediterranean coast. A calanque is a steep-sided valley
formed within karstic regions either by fluvial erosion or the collapse of the
roof of a cave that has been subsequently partially submerged by a rise in sea
level. The best known examples of this
formation can be found in the Massif
des Calanques (Massis dei
calancas in Occitan, the historic local language) in the Bouches-du-Rhone
departement of France. Source
