Parc naturel régional Périgord Limousin

Elevations in the park start at 85 meters along the Nizonne river near La Rochebeaucourt-et-Argentine and reach 556 meters near Courbefy southeast of Bussière-Galant. Due to these differences in elevation the park possesses several different natural habitats like moors near Champagnac-la-Rivière, bocage, meadows near water courses and forests consisting of chestnut and oak. South of Mareuil one encounters heathland and dry grassland. There are also many little pools and lakes. Many brooks and smaller rivers like for example the Arthonnet, the Bandiat, the Charente, the Côle, the Dronne, the Gorre, the Grêne, the Nizonne and the Tardoire drain the parkland. Of all these water courses the Isle is the only river that has its source outside the park's perimeter.

The water courses belong to one of the three drainage basins:

• the Dordogne in the south of the park
• the Vienne in the north and
• the Charente in the northwest.

The climate in the park is temperate, but can show quite pronounced local variations. In the northeast the climate is generally continental, whereas in the southwest it is maritime. Certain protected south-facing slopes can even possess a submediterranean climate. The following climatic diagram shows data averaged over the last five years (2004–2008) from a private weather station (354 meters above sea level) near Milhaguet in the Haute Vienne.[1]

Temperature distribution in °C:

The average temperature over the last five years was 11.1 °C, the yearly precipitation was 1053.6 millimeters. The last years have been exceptionally wet.

Massive galena coating - quartz vein from the fine-grained hornblende-bearing Piégut-Pluviers Granodiorites Mine du Cantonnier, southeast of Nontron.

Wulfenite

Besides the common minerals quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite as well as calcite, dolomite and gypsum rarer minerals occur, for example actinolite, allanite, andalusite, antigorite, apatite, arsenopyrite, baryte, cassiterite, chalcedony, chalcopyrite, chlorite, chromite, clinopyroxene, chrysotile, cordierite, cyanite, epidote, galena, garnet, goethite, graphite, hematite, hornblende, ilmenite, kaolinite, limonite, magnetite, manganite, marcasite, montmorillonite, prehnite, psilomelane, pyrite, pyrolusite, pyrrhotite, rutile, sillimanite, sphalerite, sphene, staurolite, tourmaline and zircon. Some very rare minerals do exist as well, like anglesite, autunite, beryl, cerussite, covellite, crocoite, greenockite, nontronite, pyromorphite, scheelite, native silver, stibnite and wulfenite, and also extremely rare minerals like chalcolite, dundasite, embreyite, hisingerite, leadhillite, mimetite, ozokerite (pseudo-mineral) and vauquelinite.

Ultrapure quartz from Saint-Paul-la-Roche

In the Piégut-Pluviers Granodiorite existed a quarry near Lacaujamet (commune of Saint-Estèphe, not far from Piégut-Pluviers) that once extracted granodiorite lintels for doors and windows. The Toarcian clays were exploited by numerous small tile factories. The relatively soft Cretaceous limestones (especially the Turonian) were mined in hundreds of small quarries, because they were a much appreciated building stone. All these activities have now almost come to a halt in the park. There are a few quarries still in operation, but they produce mainly gravel for roadworks or limestone flour for agricultural purposes.

Many small pockets of pegmatites used to be exploited locally as a resource for the porcelain industry.

A curiosity was an ultrapure quartz lens found near Saint-Paul-la-Roche with parallel C-surfaces belonging to a C/S fabric. Originally this fabric was attributed to the Rochechouart impact structure, but later on its purely tectonic character was confirmed. Meanwhile, the outcrop has been completely exploited due to requests by the computer industry and NASA.

In the last two centuries lodes containing lead, zinc and silver were mined near Nontron and Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière. Iron used to be exploited in the Sidèrolithique - small iron-rich Tertiary deposits. At the base of these iron deposits are manganese-rich layers in karstic depressions and infills. They formed the basis for manganese mining activities that have ceased in the last century.

The following metals are known to exist, but have never been mined:

• antimony − in pyrite near Bussière-Galant
• copper − in chalcopyrite and in covellite near Saint-Pierre-de-Frugie
• gold − in arsenopyrite near Bussière-Galant
• tin − in cassiterite near Cussac
• tungsten − in scheelite near Montibus, commune of Mialet
• uranium − in autunite and in chalcolite, commune of Champs-Romain.

Rock shelters, grottoes and caves in the valley of the Bandiat, the Dronne, the Nizonne, the Tardoire and the Trincou have been occupied since the Mousterian up into the Magdalenian. Examples are:

• Brouillaud near La Tour-Blanche − Mousterian and Aurignacian
• Font Bargeix near La Chapelle-Montmoreau − Magdalenian
• Fronsac near Vieux-Mareuil − Magdalenian
• La Jovelle near La Tour-Blanche - engravings of a capricorn and a mammoth - Périgordian?
• La Peyzie near La Tour-Blanche - Magdalenian and Azilian
• La Tabaterie near La Gonterie-Boulouneix - paleolithic rock shelter, slightly outside of the park
• Puyrignac near Champeaux-et-la-Chapelle-Pommier
• Rebières near Brantôme - several rock shelters and caves, somewhat outside of the park
• Sandougne near La Gonterie-Boulouneix - Mousterian
• Villars - 30 engravings and cave paintings (blue horse, capricorns, hunter attacked by a bison) - early Magdalenian (17000 – 15000 years BP)
• Teyjat - engravings of bisons, red deer, horses and reindeer - late Magdalenian (~ 10000 years BP)

The neolithic open-air sites Montoume and Nouaillas near Vayres document the gradual changeover from hunter-gatherers to a more agrarian/sessile lifestyle. Finds include stone axes, arrow heads, scrapers and whetstones made from quartz or metamorphic schists.

Dolmen Peyrelevade near Brantôme

From the megalithic period there are several dolmen and menhirs left behind in the park. Examples for dolmen are:

• Caillou blanc near Rochechouart
• Chez-Moutaud near Saint-Auvent
• La Côte near Saint-Laurent-sur-Gorre
• La Jalinie near Saint-Jory-de-Chalais
• La Tamanie near Oradour-sur-Vayres[3]
• Le Fouret near Condat-sur-Trincou
• Peyre d'Ermale near Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, somewhat outside of the park
• Peyrelevade near Brantôme, outside of the park
• Peyrelevade near Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, outside of the park
• Pierre Plate near Veaubrunet, commune of Teyjat - remnants

Examples for menhirs are:

• Chez-Moutaud near Saint-Auvent
• Coudert-Ferry near Milhac-de-Nontron
• Firbeix near Piégut-Pluviers
• Le Fouret near Condat-sur-Trincou
• Lescuyras near Saint-Laurent-sur-Gorre
• Theil near Gorre

The dolmen and menhirs were erected about 3500 BC and are attributed to the Artenac culture. Many stone tools, stone knives, arrow heads and whetstones made from flint have been found nearby. Significant is the first occurrence of plain and adorned pottery fragments.

The Thermae near Chassenon

A Bronze Age settlement near Chalat, commune of Vayres, has so far yielded only insignificant findings.

From the early Iron Age date several tumuli and a necropolis. Examples are:

• Champ des Mottes near Oradour-sur-Vayres - tumuli
• Coudert-Ferry near Milhac-de-Nontron - tumulus
• La Motte near Rochechouart - tumulus and necropolis

Iron fibulae and iron knives were discovered in geometrically adorned vases that also kept the ashes of the defunct.

Several Roman sites are also known, such as the villa foundations near Nontronneau not far from Nontron. Outside the park are the thermae near Chassenon (Cassinomagus) in the Charente département. The park is traversed by the ancient Roman road Via Agrippa that connected Limoges with Saintes.

There is a Merovingian necropolis dating back to the 6th century in La Blancherie near Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien at the edge of the park.