Mount Pelé and Mount Hulin, rising to 200 meters, are witnesses to the human exploitation of limestone, which began in Roman times. The slopes of these mountains are marked by the old quarries, where limestone was extracted for construction.
Desvres
The site is accessible all year round
Free
Dogs welcome
Facilities
Car parking
Viewpoint
Geosite details
Mount Pelé and Mount Hulin, rising to 200 metres, are witnesses to the human exploitation of limestone, which began in Roman times. The slopes of these mountains are marked by the old quarries, where limestone was extracted for construction. This limestone, with its fine texture, has become a prized material for buildings in the region.
Over time, these quarries were abandoned, leaving room for nature. The site is now a haven for biodiversity, with several species of orchids blooming in the spring, attracting botany enthusiasts. The area is also a habitat for many animal species, making it an ideal hiking spot for nature and photography enthusiasts too.
The 'Big Bang'
13.8 billion years ago
Earth formed
4.6 billion years ago
540 million years ago
The Cambrian explosion of life: animals evolved and diversified as never before on Earth.
Devonian
419 million years ago
390 million years ago the oldest rocks you can see in the Geopark date back to the Middle Devonian. They are still quarried today in the Marquise basin in France.
Carboniferous
359 million years ago
Around 325 million years ago the Geopark was near the equator. The swamp forests from that period are preserved as coal, which was formerly mined in the Marquise basin in France as well as in East Kent and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Permian
299 million years ago
Triassic
252 million years ago
210 million years ago the Geopark was in the centre of the Pangaea supercontinent, and dinosaurs roamed the land!
Jurassic
201 million years ago
150 million years ago the Geopark was submerged under the sea, the sands, clays, limestones, and sandstones that compose the Boulonnais region in France were deposited.
Cretaceous
145 million years ago
Over about 40 million years from 100-60 million years ago, Chalk formed at the bottom of a warm, shallow sea where the Geopark is located today. This was the first step towards the formation of our distinctive chalk landscape, which defines much of the Geopark.
Palaeogene
66 million years ago
Tectonic activity around 40 million years ago uplifted the territory of the Geopark by dozens of metres, creating an extensive chalk landscape that connected France and Great Britain.
Neogene
23 million years ago
Quaternary
2.6 million years ago
450,000 years ago, a megaflood destroyed the chalk ridge connecting Calais and Dover, creating the iconic white cliffs of the Geopark we see today
