From tumultuous waterfalls to calm lakes
The Cauterets valley is the last main valley in the Pyrenees to boast rivers and numerous natural lakes. The Gave de Cauterets river flows from a source located an altitude of 2,350 metres. It begins as a stream, then grows progressively larger as it meets the Gave d’Arratille, followed by the Gave de Gaube at the Pont d’Espagne. Fed by rainfall and melted snow, the river paints a magnificent backdrop for the spectacular waterfalls.
Engulfed by granite
Granite can be found everywhere and in different forms. It is at its sharpest in the steep walls and summits, at its roundest when polished by the glacier, and at its most surprising in the erratic blocks carried then strewn by the glacier.
Worth a visit - Vein-streaked rocks
On some of the local rocks, you will find a maze of raised veins, like visible roots. They bear witness to small fractures that were filled by the passage of water with deposits of pure silica. This then crystallised to form quartz, which resists erosion better than the surrounding rock.
