Cascade du Ray-Pic, Natural volcanic waterfall in Péreyres, France.
Cascade du Ray-Pic is a waterfall on the Bourges in Péreyres, Ardèche, where the river drops more than 60 m over a lava flow. It has two falls: an upper one of about 60 m, not visible from below, and the main fall of 35 m. The water runs down dark, jagged basalt columns, with small patches of green vegetation clinging to the rock.
The waterfall was classified as a natural site in 1931. It is cut into the basalt columns left by a lava flow from the Ray-Pic volcano, one of the longest in France at about 20 km. A rockfall killed one person and injured six in 2009, closing the site until 1 June 2012.
The name Ray-Pic probably comes from the local patois word rai or raÿ, meaning a fast-flowing stream, a term recorded in the neighbouring Velay. The site has been a protected natural site since 1931 and lies within the Monts d'Ardèche Regional Nature Park. The Bourges flows on for more than 20 km below the falls.
A parking area near the trailhead accommodates several vehicles and serves as the starting point for visiting. A 15-minute walk leads to viewing platforms that offer different perspectives of the falls.
The waterfall made the Ray-Pic volcano (also called coupe de la Fialouse) famous: its eruptions produced one of France's longest lava flows, about 20 km long, which the Bourges now follows. The river drops more than 60 m in total, the visible main fall being about 35 m.
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