Chauvet Caverne Pont D'Arc

Lauryne was to be our driver and tour guide for an overnight trip to the cavern discovered near Pont D'Arc with prehistoric drawings from 35,000 years ago. The drawings were preserved because the entrance collapsed and sealed the cave. What we will see is actually a replica of the sections of the cave where the drawings exist. On our way we took a quick picture in Aze...

Later, we crossed the Rhone River...

We stopped for a picnic lunch at an overlook near the Pont D'Arc caverne...

That was Lauryne being silly while Harriet Ann was in the distance studying the cement map of scene beneath and beyond us. Here is some of what she was looking at...

We were early for our tour of the cave so we continued on past the entrance to go see Pont D'Arc and the Ardèche River which is a favorite vacation spot...

There were several kayakers enjoying the mild weather

 Some holes in the rocks are obviously man-made, but the natural ones are a clue to the existence of many caves in this area. Notice the biker coming out of the rock tunnel...

Where we used to pull over at the side of the road to take a picture of Pont D'Arc, there is now only space for hikers or bikers so I have a railing in my drive-by photo...

We then stopped at the park that can be seen beneath the stone bridge. Mimi walked the whole path to get the best picture from the other side. 

To see the entire photo of the stone bridge, slide the bar at the bottom of the page to the right...

Mimi returning from her short trek to get the best pictures

Harriet Ann, on the other hand, went as far as the small building, took a long distance picture and then disappeared from view. We have learned that Harriet Ann finds every bathroom!

Here she is returning to us. 

No photography is allowed during the tour of the Chauvet Pont D'Arc Caverne, but afterwards we spent time in the museum.

What I found truly fascinating was to learn that many years ago the Mediterranean Sea almost disappeared. In the next picture you can see its current outline and how little of it once existed.

Below is another museum illustration that I found interesting showed where the caverne is located in relation to the stone bridge. Pont D'Arc is at the bottom right. The Ardèche River flows both under and around. The cave, found by Jean-Marie Chauvet in 1994 is the darkest spot in the upper left.

I Googled the cave and below are examples of the art found on the cave walls...